* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
          [CALL TO ORDER]
          [00:00:08]
          AND WELCOME TO THE MAY 18TH, 2022 MEETING OF THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION. 
          IT IS 5:46 PM AND I WILL CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER. 
          UH, THE 
          [PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
FIRST ITEM OF BUSINESS IS PUBLIC COMMUNICATION. 
          UH, AND I BELIEVE WE HAVE, UH, AT LEAST ONE PERSON SIGNED UP TO SPEAK. 
          YES, CORRECT. 
          CHAIR MIKE LEE. 
          WELCOME MIKE. 
          YOU'VE GOT THREE MINUTES. 
          I APPRECIATE IT. 
          VERY MUCH YAMMERING ABOUT THE SITE ISSUE. 
          YEAH, THAT'S GOOD. 
          YEAH. 
          MY NAME MICHAEL LAVEY. 
          I'M YAMMERING ABOUT THE SAME ISSUE. 
          SCOOTERS. 
          APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. 
          UM, UH, BASICALLY WISHES ARE FREE. 
          WORLD IS PERFECT. 
          COMMISSION WOULD FOCUS ON, UH, HOLDING THE STAFF ACCOUNTABLE ON, UH, CERTAIN ISSUES. 
          NUMBER ONE, BENCHMARKING AGAINST OTHER COMMUNITIES. 
          WHAT ARE THEY DOING TO, UH, MANAGE, UH, THEIR SCOOTERS? THEY STILL HAVE THEM. 
          SAN DIEGO IS A GREAT EXAMPLE. 
          HAS A STAFF BENCHMARK, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, THE $64 QUESTION IS WHY HAVE THEY LICENSED 14,000 SCOOTERS? UH, UH, THE, AND HOW DO THEY PLAN ON MANAGING THE, JUST THE BASIC, UH, LITTERING PROGRAM? MY OFFICE ON THE SOUTHEAST CORNER AT SIX AND CONGRESS AT FIVE 15, CONGRESS TOWER WALKED OUT TODAY AT NOON, THERE WERE 65, UH, UM, UH, SCOOTERS LAY ON THEIR SIDE. 
          UH, I THINK THIS COMMISSION, UH, CARES ABOUT, UH, THE, UH, LOOK OF THE ENTIRE CITY, ESPECIALLY THE DOWNTOWN. 
          UH, IT LOOKS LIKE A WAR ZONE. 
          UH, THE, UH, BEING CONCERNED ABOUT, UH, THE DANGER OF THE, UH, SCOOTERS, UM, UH, YOU HAVE AN EMAIL FROM ME ABOUT WHAT, UH, THE DELL TRAUMA CENTER AND THE PLASTIC SURGEONS ARE SEEING, UH, UH, AN ORTHOPEDIC SURGEONS ARE SEEING ON A REGULAR BASIS IN TERMS OF ACCOUNTABILITY. 
          YOU KNOW, WHY ARE THEY W YOU KNOW, WHAT DATA DO THEY HAVE DATA THAT THEY GAVE YOU, UH, AT THE LAST MEETING WAS BASICALLY A WORTHLESS, YOU KNOW, THE MOST CRITICAL DATA YOU GUYS CAN BE ASKING FOR, IN MY OPINION, IS, OKAY. 
          THEY WANT THESE SCOOTERS AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO CARS, BUT HOW MANY OF THOSE, UH, RIDES THAT THEY'RE COUNTING ARE REALLY BEING USED AS AN ALTERNATIVE VEHICULAR TRANSPORTATION, AS OPPOSED TO ENJOY RIDING AGAIN, DOWNTOWN, IT DOES APPEAR TO BE AN AWFUL LOT OF KIDS HAVING A GOOD TIME ON SKATERS, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE AT RISK. 
          UH, YOU HAVE A PIECE OF PAPER FROM ME. 
          I KNOW THIS IS OF CONCERN TO YOU GUYS. 
          YOU HAVE A LOT OF CRITICAL ISSUES ON YOUR AGENDA. 
          THANKS FOR LISTENING AND GOOD LUCK. 
          UM, AND JUST FOR THE RECORD, WE DID SUBMIT THE RESOLUTION THAT WE PASSED AT LAST MONTH'S MEETING TO COUNCIL. 
          UH, AND SINCE THEN I KEEP SEEING SCOOTERS IN CROSSWALKS AND BLOCKING SIDEWALKS AND PLACES THEY SHOULDN'T BE. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          DO WE HAVE ANY BODY ELSE AVAILABLE? NO CHAIR. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, THE 
          [1. Approval of Minutes of the April 20, 2022, Meeting Minutes]
NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS IS APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES AND, UH, I HAD HAD A COUPLE OF CORRECTIONS AND I BELIEVE THAT THEY WERE MADE. 
          SO IF, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY OTHER CORRECTIONS TO THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED, AND I'M HAPPY TO BRING IT UP ON THE JUMBO TRON? UH, OUR FINE AAV GUY, WHOSE NAME I FORGOTTEN IF WE CAN BRING UP THE MINUTES. 
          THAT'S OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          NO, IT'S ALL GOOD. 
          GOOD TO SEE PAPER BITS AND COMMISSIONER. 
          SURE. 
          THERE WAS A CHANCE I HAD, I WASN'T SURE WHETHER YOU HAD, UM, ABSTAINED OR VOTED OPPOSITION ON THE, OKAY. 
          OKAY. 
          I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WE HAD TALKED ABOUT IT IN EXTENSION. 
          DID IT, WAS IT AN ABSTENTION? OH, IT WAS OKAY. 
          SORRY ABOUT THAT. 
          OKAY. 
          I'M NOT HEARING ANY, UH, ANY CONCERNS OR CHANGES COMMISSIONER, SO MOVE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES. 
          OKAY. 
          WE GOT A MOTION AND A SECOND ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY, AYE. 
          AYE. 
          ALL OPPOSED HEARING ON THE MOTION CARRIES. 
          THANK YOU. 
          [2a. North Congress Avenue Plaza: State Preservation Board]
OKAY. 
          THE FIRST ITEM OF NEW BUSINESS IS, UH, SOMETHING THAT'S VERY EXCITING. 
          THE NORTH CAVIN CONGRESS AVENUE PLAZA. 
          UH, WE HAVE CHRIS CURRENTS WITH A STATE PRESERVATION BOARD HERE TO PRESENT CHRIS. 
          THE FLOOR IS YOURS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I HAD A, UH, IF YOU COULD JUST ADVANCE WHEN I SAY NEXT CLICKER. 
          [00:05:09]
OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, UH, GOOD EVENING. 
          MY NAME IS CHRIS KERNS. 
          I'M DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL PROJECTS FOR THE STATE PRESERVATION BOARD. 
          I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS A SMALL PART OF DOWNTOWN. 
          UM, THE, UH, UH, UPPER MIDTOWN SECTION, THAT'S KNOWN AS THE CAPITOL COMPLEX, THE, UM, UH, AGENCY I WORKED FOR THE STATE PRESERVATION BOARD. 
          WE MANAGE A PORTFOLIO OF HISTORIC STRUCTURES FOR THE STATE, AND ALSO TASKED WITH SEVERAL RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE CAPITAL COMPLEX. 
          AND THE CAPITAL COMPLEX IS A 45 SQUARE BLOCK AREA THAT, UH, IS BOUNDED BY MLK 10TH STREET, LAVACA AND TRINITY STREET. 
          AND WE ARE, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE MANAGEMENT OF THE GREATER, UH, PUBLIC SPACES WITHIN THAT ZONE. 
          ONE OF THE THINGS THE STATE IS DOING, YOU FEEL ADVANCED. 
          THE NEXT SLIDE IS WE'RE NEARING THE COMPLETION OF WHAT YOU SEE, WHICH IS THE, UH, FIRST PHASE OF THE, UH, UH, TEXAS CAPITOL MALL. 
          UH, PROBABLY IN JUNE. 
          IT WILL BEGIN TO LOOK SOMEWHAT LIKE THE, UH, UH, THE GREENSCAPE YOU SEE IN THE, UH, RENDERING, UH, NEXT SLIDE. 
          UH, THIS IS A PROCESS STARTED BACK IN 2016 AND REALLY STARTED TO TURN DIRT IN 2018. 
          IT'S A MULTI-STAGE OR A MULTI PHASED, UH, PROGRAM, THE FIRST TWO, UH, THE FIRST PHASE BEING THE CONSTRUCTION OF TWO BUILDINGS AND THREE BLOCKS OF GREEN SPACE. 
          GO AHEAD. 
          AND THE NEXT SLIDE, AND THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A ISOMETRIC LOOK AT HOW THE BUILDINGS, WHICH THOSE VOLUMES ARE SIMILAR TO WHAT WE BUILT THERE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT IN SHAPE, BUT AGAIN, THEY REPRESENT THAT THE FIRST THREE BLOCKS OF THE MALL, UH, WILL LOOK SOMEWHAT LIKE THAT NEXT SLIDE. 
          AND THEN, UH, PHASE TWO WILL START TAKING PLACE ON THE 15TH STREET FRONTAGE, UH, UH, FROM WHAT WOULD BE CONGRESS TO LAVACA STREET, NEXT SLIDE. 
          AND THEN THE ORANGE, THE LIGHTER ORANGE BUILDINGS DEPICT WHAT THOSE, UH, BUILDING VOLUMES WILL LOOK LIKE. 
          UH, THESE TWO BUILDINGS ARE PRESENTLY BEGINNING THEIR DESIGN STAGES AND SOME OF THE, UH, ELEMENTS OF, UH, YOU KNOW, CITING THEM TO WHERE THEY, YOU KNOW, BEST HARMONIZED WITH THE SURROUNDING BUILDINGS, WITH THE CAPITAL, UH, AND THEY WILL BREAK, UH, THEY WILL START DIGGING PROBABLY IN JANUARY, UH, WHICH WILL, UH, TAKE OUT THE REST OF THE, UH, 1600 BLOCK OR 1500 BLOCK OF WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN CONGRESS AVENUE FOR UNDERGROUND PARKING AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TWO BUILDINGS YOU SEE NEXT, UH, AS PART OF THIS MASSIVE DEVELOPMENT, THE STATE'S UNDERTAKEN, WE HAVE A LOT OF, UH, STREETSCAPE, UH, STANDARDS THAT WE'RE PUTTING INTERNAL TO THE SPACE AS EVIDENCED BY PART OF THE, UH, YOU KNOW, BY THAT, UH, DETAIL SHOWN IN THAT SLIDE NEXT. 
          AND WE, UH, ALSO, UH, STUDIED, YOU KNOW, WHAT, UH, STREET CAPACITIES WOULD BE IN STREET GEOMETRIES, UH, NEXT. 
          AND SO HAS THE CITY, THE CITY'S BEEN VERY BUSY AS WELL, BACK IN 2016, SAME TIME WE'RE STARTING OUR PROJECT. 
          UH, THE, UH, MOBILITY 2016 MOBILITY BONDS WERE PASSED, WHICH INCLUDED SOME DOLLARS FOR THE, UH, UH, MARTIN LUTHER KING BOULEVARD, UH, SECTION FROM  DOWN TO, UH, NORTH LAMAR. 
          UH, AND WE HAVE THE SAME CROSS SECTIONS THAT, UH, BOTH THE CITY AND THE STATE ARE WORKING VERY WELL TOGETHER. 
          WE'RE NOT COMING UP WITH ONE IDEA AND THE OTHER PARTY, UH, ANOTHER IDEA NEXT AND, UH, SAME THING AT 15TH STREET. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, WE, UH, HEARD GEOMETRIES REFLECT WHAT'S CURRENT AND PROBABLY WILL STAY THAT WAY NEXT. 
          AND WHAT YOU SEE THAT IS MISSING FROM ALL OF THIS. 
          AND IT'S NO SMALL WONDER GIVEN THE AMOUNT OF, OF, UH, ACTIVITY DOWNTOWN IT'S UNPRECEDENTED. 
          EVERYBODY SAYS THAT THERE'S NOT ENOUGH TO PURLATIVE. 
          SO TALK ABOUT THE GROWTH IN DOWNTOWN. 
          UH, BUT ONE ITEM IS THAT THE, BOTH, ALL THREE, THE CITY, UH, THE STATE AND THE UNIVERSITY HAVE ALL EMPHASIZED THAT, YOU KNOW, ACTIVE SPACES, PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY SPACES ARE REALLY CRITICAL TO, YOU KNOW, KEEPING THE VIBRANCY OF DOWNTOWN AND LIVING UP TO OUR, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, 
          [00:10:01]
REPUTATION AS AN ACTIVE CITY. 
          UM, BUT WHAT WE'RE NOT DOING IS WE'RE NOT FOLLOWING THROUGH ON THE GROUND WHERE IT REALLY MATTERS THE UNIVERSITY. 
          UM, AND THERE'LL BE SOME SIDES FURTHER ON GO AHEAD AND GO, WELL, ACTUALLY STAY ON THIS SLIDE. 
          UH, THE UNIVERSITY HAS CREATED THE SPEEDWAY MALL. 
          WE'RE WORKING ON THE CAPITOL MALL AND WE'LL SOON BE FINISHED WITH, YOU KNOW, OVER A BILLION DOLLAR INVESTMENT IN, IN BUILDING OUT STATE OFFICE FACILITIES. 
          UH, BUT WHAT WE HAVE ARE INTERSECTIONS THAT ARE, UH, THE SAME AS THEY WERE IN 1970, QUITE FRANKLY. 
          UM, AND RIGHT AT THE VERY BOTTOM OF THAT RENDERING ONE CAN SEE AN ELEMENT THAT WE'RE ALL HOPING THAT WE CAN, UH, START TO SEE, UH, PLACED ON THESE, UH, UH, HIGHER SPEED ARTERIALS. 
          AND THOSE ARE SOME, UH, UM, UH, DISTINCTION OF THIS INTERSECTIONS USING BRICKS AND SPEED TABLES TO SLOW DOWN TRAFFIC, THE INTRODUCTION OF MEDIANS. 
          UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WILL OCCUR GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE IS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE STARTED AT ONE OF OUR JUST GENERAL GENERIC DESIGN ELEMENTS SAID THAT THE MALL SHOULD, UH, EXTEND INTO THE ROADWAY, NOT AS A, UH, NOT, NOT TO BE A BARRIER TO TRAFFIC, BUT TO HARMONIZE WHAT WE ARE BUILDING WITH WHAT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HAS DONE WITH THE SPEEDWAY MALL AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING WITH THE BLANTON, UH, UH, MUSEUM SPACE. 
          THEY'VE COMPLETELY REINVISION, UH, THEIR SPACE. 
          SO ALL THREE ENTITIES LITERALLY INTERSECT RIGHT HERE AND NEXT SLIDE, AND SOME OF THE CITY BOND MONEY, UH, FROM THEIR 2016 MOBILITY BOND HAVE BROUGHT THEIR DESIGN, UH, UH, PROCESS TO THIS SPACE WHERE YOU SEE THAT THEY DO TO PICK AT THE INTERSECTION THERE AT, UM, UH, TO THE UPPER LEFT OR FAR LEFT OF THAT, UH, RENDERING. 
          YOU SEE A, UH, INTERSECTION THERE BETWEEN THE BLANTON AND WHAT WILL NOW BE THE, THE, UH, THE TEXAS MALL. 
          AND IT REALLY JUST SHOWS SOME VERY, UH, PERFUNCTORY, CROSSWALKS AND TINY LITTLE MEDIANS. 
          UH, THE FACT THAT THERE'S NO LEFT TURN NEEDED FOR TWO BLOCKS, THEIR OFFER OFFERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY START ENGAGING WITH SOME OF THE, UM, UM, UH, UH, UH, PROJECT ZERO, UH, AND OTHER, UH, PEDESTRIAN SAFETY TYPE OF, UH, OF, UM, OF, UH, ACTIVITIES SUCH AS, YOU KNOW, LARGER MEDIANS, BETTER ADA ACCESS AND BETTER PROTECTION CROSSING, UH, ACROSS IN THIS STREET. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          AND HERE'S JUST A, UH, ONE OF OUR RENDERINGS OF WHAT WE WILL HAVE. 
          WE HOPE, UH, WHEN WE ENGAGE FULLY IN THE MALL, SOME 400,000 VISITORS A YEAR, I'M SURE UT HAS THAT MANY IN A MONTH. 
          UM, UH, ESPECIALLY ON, ON GAME DAY, UM, THE, UH, THE AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC, PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC THAT WE'RE BRINGING IN IS NOT SOMETHING WE'VE EVER SEEN BEFORE. 
          AND I DON'T THINK THE CITY OR THE STATE OR THE UNIVERSITY TO REALLY FULLY CONSIDERED THE DEPTH OF THE ISSUE THAT WE'RE CREATING FOR OURSELVES WITHOUT PUTTING A SOLUTION, UH, THERE AT THE INTERSECTION. 
          AND NEXT SLIDE HERE. 
          AND HERE'S JUST ANOTHER RENDERING OF SOME OF THE SPACES THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE BUILDING OUT WITHIN THE MALL. 
          THERE'S A AREA THAT, UH, THAT WE CALL THE GARDEN DISTRICT WHERE IT'S A SERIES OF ALL, UH, IT'S SURROUNDED BY THE, UH, THIS IS PART OF SOMETHING MR. HARRIS MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH BY THE TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION. 
          UM, THE, UH, THE IDEA IS KNOW TO CREATE A CIVIC SPACE AND REALLY INVITE PEOPLE TO ENJOY IT DOWNTOWN. 
          AGAIN, SPEAKING TO THE 400,000 MAY BE A MUCH GREATER NUMBER OF PEOPLE. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          AND THIS IS JUST A RENDERING OF WHAT YOU UT HAS DONE, UH, ON, UH, THE, UH, UH, SPEEDWAY MALL, NEXT SLIDE, AND A LITTLE BIT MORE, THEY ARE FULLY DONE AND IT'S FULLY ACTIVATED NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          AND THEY ARE UNDERWAY AS WE ARE DIGGING ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE STREET. 
          THEY ARE DIGGING AND, AND FOSTERING ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE STREET, UH, PUTTING THESE, UH, UH, FINISHING TOUCHES ON THE BLANTON, UM, UH, WHERE THEY REIMAGINED INSTEAD OF IT BEING A STERILE COURTYARD BETWEEN TWO BUILDINGS, THEY TURN INTO A MUCH MORE ACTIVE SPACE, AGAIN, VERY CLOSE TO THE EXACT INTERSECTION THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, UH, TRYING, UH, TRYING TO, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, PLAY SOME, UH, UH, MORE ELABORATE, UH, SAFETY STRUCTURES AND, UH, AESTHETIC AMENITIES. 
          NEXT 
          [00:15:01]
SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          JUST AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE HOW THE, THEIR ACTIVATION COMES STRAIGHT UP TO THE, YOU KNOW, TO THE PROPERTY LINE, TO THE SIDEWALKS, AND THEN TO THE STREET THERE, UH, MLK AND CONGRESS AVENUE. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          AND SO WHAT I'M HERE TONIGHT TO, UH, ASK THE, UH, UH, COMMISSION TO DO IS, UM, UH, PLEASE, UH, UH, HELP US START A NEW CHAPTER IN, UH, PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY, UH, CONSTRUCTION WHEN IT COMES TO THE INTERSECTIONS DOWNTOWN, YOU KNOW, THERE SAY ASM P AND THE AUSTIN CORE TRANSPORTATION PLAN THAT ARE ALL ACTIVELY HAPPENING NOW. 
          AND, UH, WE ARE ACTIVELY COMPLETING OUR, UH, BUILDING AND COMPLETING SECTIONS OF OUR PROJECTS. 
          UH, AND NOW IT'S REALLY, PERHAPS YOU MIGHT SAY THAT THE TRIPLE WITCHING HOUR WHERE, UH, ALL OF US TO ENTITIES CAN ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING ON MLK, UH, UH, TO, UH, YOU KNOW, IMPROVE THAT INTERSECTION. 
          AND I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION COMMISSIONER INSURANCE. 
          YEAH. 
          OH, THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          AND WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS FOR QUITE SOME TIME, AND IT'S GREAT TO SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING. 
          UH, AND YES, I DO THINK WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING ON THAT MLK TRANSITION, AND HOPEFULLY THIS WILL SEND A, SOME KIND OF MESSAGE TO COUNCIL BEFORE WE'RE OVER HERE THIS EVENING. 
          UH, NEXT OTHER QUESTION IS WHAT IS BEING DONE AS FAR AS ACTIVATION OF THAT PLAZA SO THAT IT STAYS ALIVE? UH, TH THAT'S, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANT TO JUST GET IT RIGHT. 
          UH, WE, UH, THE STATE PRESERVATION BOARD WILL ACTUALLY BE WORKING ON, UH, PROGRAMMING, UH, THROUGH THE, UH, TEXAS STATE HISTORY MUSEUM AND WITH THE STATE, UH, AND WITH THE TEXAS FACILITIES COMMISSION THAT, UH, THEY'RE VERY ACTIVE PARTNERS WITH US. 
          UH, WE, UH, IN THE MASTER PLAN ACTUALLY, UH, CHEST BIDDED, UH, MANY OF THE CIVIC EVENTS THAT NOW OCCUR OUT ON THE STREETS, SUCH AS THE BOOK FESTIVAL, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE TOOK THE NUMBER OF TENTS THEY PUT OUT ON COLORADO. 
          WE FITTED THEM, UH, PROPORTIONALLY TO WHAT THE, THE LAWNS WOULD BE ON THE, ON THE MALL AND THE SIDE STREETS. 
          AND IF IT'S VERY WELL, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF OTHER LARGE CIVIC EVENTS THAT, YOU KNOW, COULD MOVE INTO THAT SPACE. 
          THERE'S A SMALL, UM, UH, WELL, THERE'S A SMALL, UH, LIVE PERFORMANCE STAGE. 
          AND THEN THERE'S A MUCH LARGER, UM, UH, CENTER STAGE BUILT AT THE INTERSECTION OF 17TH. 
          AND, UH, WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN CONGRESS AVENUE, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, FEATURES THE CAPITOL IS A REALLY GREAT BACKDROP AND IT'S, UH, TWO TREE-LINED ALLEYS AND, YOU KNOW, NICE GRASS PANELS DOWN THE CENTER. 
          SO, UH, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, YOGA AFTER WORK, UH, UH, COULD BE TEXAS BARBECUE FESTIVAL, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY THERE'S ENOUGH FESTIVALS IN TOWN THAT, UM, THAT, UH, SOME OF THEM MAY APPROACH US, BUT RIGHT NOW WE DON'T HAVE ANY SPECIFIC PROGRAMS, BUT OBVIOUSLY WE INTEND TO NOT LET THAT BECOME A MORIBUND, UM, GREEN SPACE, EVERYBODY JUST STARES AT, WE WANT PEOPLE TO USE IT. 
          DOES THE STATE PRESERVATION BOARD HAVE ANY LONG-TERM PLANS TO HAVE PEOPLE OR EMPLOYEES OR CONSULTANTS INVOLVED TO HELP ACTIVATE THE SPACE? UH, I COULDN'T SAY NO AT THIS POINT. 
          NOT THAT WE, WE HAVEN'T GIVEN ANY CONSIDERATION TO THAT AT THIS POINT, BUT IT'S NOT OFF THE TABLE. 
          IT'S JUST, WE HAVEN'T GONE THAT FAR. 
          YOU'RE JUST TRYING TO GET IT DONE, CORRECT? YEAH. 
          OKAY. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          BY THE WAY, WILL TAILGATES BE ALLOWED FOR MY UT FRIENDS, TALK TO YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE ABOUT WHO WILL SPEAK WITH MY STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND THE LONGHORN NATION, UH, THE COMMISSIONER MINDS ABOUT, HI, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. 
          IT'S LOOKS VERY EXCITING. 
          UM, I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN AND HOW IT INTERDIGITATES. 
          I, I NOTICED THAT YOU SAID, UM, THE S AND P REQUIRED A 69 TO 145 FOOT RIGHT OF WAY. 
          AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT I SAW ON THE, UM, IT CAN, BUT THEY THEY'VE, UH, UH, THE, THE, THE PLAN THAT'S ALREADY BEEN DRAWN UP THROUGH THE, UH, UH, 2016 MOBILITY PROJECT WAS THE SAME RIGHT AWAY WITH THAT WE SHOWED IN THE SLIDES THAT, UH, THAT'S BEEN DECIDED. 
          I THINK THAT THE, THE SMP SPEAKS TO THE MUCH BROADER, UH, YOU MIGHT SAY GUARD RAILS TO THE, THE ENTIRETY OF RIGHT AWAY IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA, BUT 
          [00:20:01]
SOMETHING THAT WIDE WOULD REQUIRED CONDEMNATION, WHICH REALLY ISN'T POSSIBLE WITH STATE LANDS. 
          YEAH. 
          I, I THINK THAT, UH, YOUR PLAN IS OVERARCHING AND SHOULD BE, UM, RECOGNIZED AHEAD OF THE ASM P IN THIS PLACE WHERE SO MANY ENTITIES COME TOGETHER. 
          THAT'S MY OPINION. 
          UM, SO, UH, I, UM, I JUST WANT TO, I'M SURE YOU KNOW, THAT IN PHILADELPHIA, AT THE CONSTITUTION MUSEUM, THEY HAVE KIND OF A ONE MAN SHOW WITH A PERSON AND, UM, ALL SORTS OF IMAGINARY THINGS ARE IN THERE TOO. 
          UM, AND IT'S A WONDERFUL WAY TO BRING HISTORY TO LIFE. 
          AND I HOPE YOU CAN HAVE SOMETHING LIKE THAT IN THIS SPACE. 
          THAT'S A REALLY NEAT SUGGESTION. 
          WE'LL LOOK AT THAT. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS TO NOTE TOO IS WITH THE ADJOINING BUILDING THAT'S BEEN CONSTRUCTED. 
          THERE WERE SOME OTHER PUBLIC FEATURES THAT MAY GO INTO THAT BUILDING. 
          AND OF COURSE SHE CAN WATCH THE, UH, THE LOTTERY DRAWINGS LIVE TWICE. 
          AND YOU WILL, THAT IS, THAT IS A ONE GIVEN ACTIVATION OF THE MALL. 
          IS THEY THEIR, THEIR LITTLE, UH, UH, UH, LIVE FROM A LOTTERY CENTRAL, UM, UH, UH, A KIOSK THERE, STREET PRINT, UH, WINDOW, JUST A WAY TO DRAW PEOPLE DOWN THERE. 
          YEAH. 
          BUT, UH, THE SMALL FOR A, TO GO BACK TO YOUR QUESTION, SIR, THAT THE SMALLER, UM, UH, EVENT SPACE THAT WE HAVE, UM, UH, THE SMALLER STAGE, UH, ONE WOULD FORESEE THAT BEING ACTIVE QUITE OFTEN, UM, UH, THE LARGER STAGE WOULD PROBABLY BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE FOR ACTS OF SEVERAL THOUSAND OR GATHERINGS OF SEVERAL WITH SOME FESTIVALS, SOME, UM, EVENT THAT GATHERED SEVERAL THOUSAND, WHETHER IT'S FOR A DAY OR FOR AN HOUR. 
          UH, WHEREAS THE SMALLER STAGE WOULD BE FOR SEVERAL HUNDRED AND ONE WOULD EASILY FORESEE A THURSDAY, FRIDAY OR SATURDAY NIGHT, YOU KNOW, SERIES ONE WOULD PUT DOWN THEIR MUSIC OR, OR A THEATER, OR, UH, YOU KNOW, IT CAN'T BE TOO ELABORATE BECAUSE IT HAS TO BE ABLE TO COME AND GO. 
          BUT, UH, IT'S VERY MUCH AN EVENT SPACE THAT, UH, WE'RE GOING TO LOOK TO FILL ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM OTHER YES, SIR. 
          I'M NOT SURE YOU WERE ON YOU'RE OFF NOW, BUT COMMENT WHEN THE LIGHT'S RED YOU'RE ON. 
          THERE WE GO. 
          UM, YES. 
          THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          UM, VERY IMPRESSIVE. 
          UM, I'M A NEW COMMISSIONER, AND SO I MAY HAVE MISSED SOME INFORMATION THAT CAME PRIOR, BUT AFTER YOUR PRESENTATION, I STILL WAS NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE WHAT YOU WERE ASKING FOR. 
          WELL, WE WERE ASKING, THANK YOU. 
          I, I SHOULD HAVE PERHAPS A LITTLE MORE CLARITY. 
          THE, UH, THE STATE, UH, WAS HOPING TO ENGAGE WHILE WE WERE CREATING THE MALL, UH, WITH THE CITY TRANSPORTATION TO, UH, IMPROVE THAT INTERSECTION SPACE. 
          UH, THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH BANDWIDTH, UH, UH, THEY HAVE, AND WE HAVE, AND THE UNIVERSITY ALL HAS, WE HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL BIG PROJECTS AND IT WAS JUST WASN'T UM, ENOUGH TIME. 
          I MEAN, THIS, UH, HONESTLY THE CITY, UH, UH, PUBLIC WORKS AND THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT PROBABLY HAVING A FORT BETWEEN NOW AND, UH, THE NEXT CENTURY, UH, ON THEIR PLATE RIGHT NOW. 
          UH, BUT WE WANT TO PRIORITIZE THAT, THAT INTERSECTION RECEIVE, UH, ATTENTION, UH, BY ALL THREE PARTIES AND CONTRIBUTION. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE SPENT CLOSE TO A BILLION DOLLAR FOR WE'LL HAVE SPENT CLOSE TO A BILLION, AND IT'S OUTSIDE OF OUR, UH, OUR PURVIEW. 
          IT'S NOT STATE PROPERTY, BUT WE WANT TO SEE IT IMPROVED BECAUSE IT CONNECTS TWO VERY LARGE ENTITIES TOGETHER. 
          AND WE'RE HOPING TO, YOU KNOW, THAT THIS OFFICIAL RECOGNITION OF THE NEED TO IMPROVE THE INTERSECTION FOR PEDESTRIAN SAFETY AND FOR AESTHETIC PURPOSES IS BENEFICIAL TO ALL RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THAT HELPS. 
          THANKS, COMMISSIONER TEMPLE. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION IS THE, SO THE STATE IS INCURRING MOST OF THE COSTS OR ALL OF THE COST OF THIS. 
          UH, THE, UH, WE HAVE, UH, MADE SOME IMPROVEMENTS THAT WERE REQUIRED BECAUSE WE TOOK AWAY WHAT WAS CONGRESS AVENUE. 
          SO IT CHANGED THE, THE SIGNALIZATION, AND OF COURSE, OBVIOUSLY SIDEWALKS HAD TO BE FIXED AND IMPROVED AFTER WE BUILT OUR BUILDINGS, BUT FOR THE INTERSECTION ITSELF, WE HAVE NOT DEDICATED ANY MONEY, UH, OTHER THAN, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT UTILITIES HAD TO BE TIED IN. 
          AND THEN THE REPAVED FOR, YOU KNOW, IT'S PART OF THAT. 
          DO YOU HAVE AN ESTIMATE OF ABOUT HOW MUCH A PROJECT LIKE THIS WOULD COST? IT CAN BE 
          [00:25:01]
SMALLER. 
          IT CAN BE VERY LARGE, VERY RAPIDLY. 
          UH, FOR INSTANCE, PUTTING IN MEDIANS THAT WOULD BE PLANTED, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, WOULD, UH, RAISE THE COST, UH, TO, UH, PUT IN A SPEED, UH, TABLE AND SOME, UH, DIFFERENTIATE DIFFERENTIATED COLORED CONCRETE, OR, OR BRICKS, UH, PROBABLY HALF A MILLION DOLLARS, UH, SIGNALIZATION, FORTUNATELY IS THERE AND THAT WOULDN'T HAVE TO CHANGE, UH, BUT AGAIN, ONE CAN RAPIDLY INCREASE, YOU KNOW, WHAT SOMETHING COSTS THE MORE YOU ADD TO IT, BUT BARE BONES, UM, 500. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YES. 
          COMMISSIONER WEAVER. 
          OKAY. 
          UH, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION MR. CRANES. 
          UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE POTENTIAL FOR THIS PLAZA TO CONNECT SUCH IMPORTANT CIVIC SPACES FOR REALLY NOT ONLY THE CITY, BUT THE STATES. 
          UM, I APPRECIATE THE WANT TO PRIORITIZE DESIGN. 
          UM, I AM JOINT LIAISON FOR THE DESIGN COMMISSION, UM, AND MAYBE A POTENTIAL RESOURCE WOULD BE TO PRESENT THE PROJECT TO DESIGN COMMISSION AND GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF A WORKING GROUP, UM, WHERE YOU WOULD PRESENT IN A SMALL GROUP, UM, THROW AROUND SOME IDEAS AND UNDER THE GUISE OF THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES, WHICH ARE UNDERGOING AN UPDATE RIGHT NOW. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE'S SOME TOOLS THAT COULD BE HELPFUL IN SHAPING THE PROGRAM. 
          W WE'D APPRECIATE THAT OPPORTUNITY. 
          I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE, UH, THAT COULD POSSIBLY BE A COMMON VENUE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE CITY IS ONE ENTITY. 
          WE'RE ANOTHER ENTITY. 
          THE UNIVERSITY IS ANOTHER ENTITY AND WE SOMEWHAT LIKE AUSTIN. 
          IT'S NOT GALVESTON, IT'S NOT TEXARKANA. 
          WE, WE OPERATE INDEPENDENT OF EACH OTHER, BUT WE ALL OBVIOUSLY HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER IN THIS CASE. 
          WE MAY, THAT WOULD BE A GOOD VENUE. 
          AWESOME. 
          UM, I'LL WORK WITH MY STAFF, UH, ON FOR THAT COMMISSION TO SEE WHAT WE CAN GET TOGETHER. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, ARE THERE, I SEE COMMISSIONER, WHETHER BE, UH, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND JUST ALONG THE SAME LINES, I KNOW THE I'M ON THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION REPRESENTING THAT, UH, ON THIS COMMISSION AS A NON-VOTING MEMBER. 
          UH, AND I KNOW WE RECEIVED A PRESENTATION ON THIS MAYBE FOUR OR FIVE YEARS AGO. 
          I KNOW IT WAS A COUPLE OF YEARS BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, AND HADN'T HEARD ANYTHING SINCE, AND I, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME CHANGES THAT ARE UNDERWAY AT THE AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT. 
          IT SEEMS REALLY TIMELY TO GET MOVING ON THAT AND HAVE A PRESENTATION OR CONVERSATIONS WITH THE UTC TO VERY MUCH. 
          SO IT'S GOING TO TAKE A LOT OF COLLABORATION AMONGST THE ENTITIES, COMMISSIONER HAIM, SETH. 
          UM, I WANT TO REMIND US ALL, AND BY THE WAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS PRESENTATION. 
          UH, WE, WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH OF THIS KIND OF COORDINATION, BUT, UH, I I'M, I'M REMINDED OF COURSE THAT WHEN SOMEONE IS EXPERIENCING THESE SPACES, IT'S, WE, WE DON'T DISTINGUISH BETWEEN WHICH ENTITY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR WHICH PART OF IT. 
          THIS IS THIS, THIS IS EXPERIENCED AS A WHOLE. 
          AND THE FACT THAT YOU'RE INITIATING, UH, THIS LEVEL OF COORDINATION, UH, IS CERTAINLY A TESTAMENT TO, UH, THE EXTRA VISION AND WORK THAT I KNOW HAS GONE INTO THIS BECAUSE, UH, THIS, THIS ISN'T THE WAY THINGS NECESSARILY ARE SET, SET UP. 
          UM, THAT HAVING BEEN SAID, I GUESS THE QUESTION IS HOW DO WE MAKE SOMETHING LIKE WHAT YOU ARE ACCOMPLISHING, WHERE THERE IS A BIGGER VISION, MULTIPLE ENTITIES WORKING TOGETHER TO ACCOMPLISH IT, EVEN IF A COUPLE OF PIECES ARE FALLING, UH, OBVIOUSLY BETWEEN THE CRACKS. 
          AND WE WANT TO, YOU KNOW, PUSH THEM HERE AT THE, UH, AT THE, UH, OVER THE FINISH LINE, BUT, BUT HOW CAN WE PERHAPS INSTITUTIONALIZE SOME OF THIS BIGGER VISION AND IN COOPERATION, UH, I CAN SEE OTHER PARTS OF THE CAPITAL COMPLEX WHERE, UM, YOU KNOW, NEXT TIME AROUND THERE'LL BE HAVING TO START FROM SCRATCH. 
          IS THERE, IS THERE SOME SOMETHING THAT YOU DOING TO BE ABLE TO, TO MAKE THIS NOT SO DIFFICULT IN THE FUTURE? I THINK, UH, WE, WE, I THINK WE'VE ALL, UH, ASPIRATIONALLY WANTED SOMETHING LIKE THIS FOR DECADES TO, UH, TO NOT HAVE, UH, AN ARTIFICIAL DIVIDE, A DIVIDING LINE SOMEWHERE LAVACA OR 10TH STREET, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, WOULD ALLOW US TO BETTER PLAN TOGETHER. 
          AND WHEN THE INVITATION WAS, UH, OFFERED, IT WAS SOMEWHAT LIKE A LIGHT BULB GOING OFF GOING, WELL, OF COURSE THIS IS A GOOD 
          [00:30:01]
WAY OF, OF INSTITUTIONALIZING OR IMPLEMENTING, UH, SOME OF THE DESIRE THERE'S BEEN OVER THE YEARS TO, YOU KNOW, TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS THAT, UH, UH, STRADDLE BOTH, YOU KNOW, CITY AND STATE INTERESTS. 
          OKAY. 
          ANYBODY ELSE? COMMISSIONER SHIRTS? YEAH. 
          ONE MORE QUICK QUESTION. 
          UH, THIS IS FOR, UH, MR. LEVY OVER THERE. 
          I KNOW THAT THE CAPITOL GROUNDS DON'T ALLOW SCOOTERS ON THE CAPITOL GROUNDS. 
          DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE POSITION WILL BE ON THE MALL? I WAS GOING TO ASK FOR SCOOTERS, UH, UH, OH, I'M SORRY, SIR, WOULD HE? NO, NO, NO, NO, NO. 
          WELL, WE, WE UNFORTUNATELY HAD SOME, UH, JOY RIDERS, UH, WHO GOT INSIDE THE CONSTRUCTION FENCE AND WE'RE, UH, WE ARE JUST NOW FINISHING SOME SIDEWALKS. 
          UH, UM, THEY WERE OBSERVED ZOOMING UP AND DOWN, YOU KNOW, HAVING A GREAT TIME AND LIKE IT'S A CONSTRUCTION SITE. 
          UH, SO AS, AS OF NOW, THEY'VE BEEN GEO-FENCED OUT OF THE, THE, THE NEW MALL AREA. 
          UH LONG-TERM UH, PROBABLY, UH, THEY WILL BE RELEGATED TO THE SIDE STREETS AND NOT ON THE MALL, BUT THAT'S NOT THAT NOT POLICY AT THIS POINT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          CONSTRUCTION MIGHT CONTINUE INDEFINITELY. 
          OKAY. 
          UH, COMMISSIONER MOZBAR, PERHAPS SOME OF YOU COULD HELP ME FORMULATE A MOTION OF SUPPORT. 
          I ACTUALLY HAVE A RESOLUTION THAT WAS IN YOUR, THAT WAS CIRCULATED EARLIER. 
          GET TO THAT IN JUST A SECOND. 
          ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CAN TALKING ABOUT GREAT PUBLIC SPACE IN THIS, THIS IS GOING TO BE A HALLMARK FOR THE CITY AND FOR THE STATE. 
          UH, AND OF COURSE WE'VE GOT THE UNIVERSITY AND ALL THE WORK THAT THEY'VE DONE. 
          UM, WE HAVE THE WATERLOO GREENWAY IMMEDIATELY TO THE EAST OF THE CAPITOL COMPLEX. 
          BEAUTIFUL. 
          IS THERE SOME THING THAT, UM, AND I'VE SEEN THE MASTER PLAN? I WAS THE VERY EARLY STAGE, GOT TO SEE IT. 
          AND, UH, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW IF THERE WAS ANY DELIBERATIVE PART OF THE MASTER PLAN THAT WOULD OPEN UP A CORRIDOR DIRECTLY TO THE WATERLOO GREENWAY. 
          UH, NOT NECESSARILY THAT, THAT, UH, THERE IS THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HAS A WALNUT CREEK MASTER PLAN THAT THEY'VE, UH, I BELIEVE ONE PROFESSOR CALLED IT A CRETACEOUS LIMESTONE DITCH AT ONE POINT THAT, UM, THEY HAVE FOUND WOULD BE A NICE WATER FEATURE TO IMPROVE. 
          IT INVOLVES CUTTING THROUGH THE TINY SECTION, OR THE CREEK MAKES A HARD ELBOW, UH, THAT IS STATE PROPERTY AND THEN CONTINUES ONWARD TO, UH, WATERLOO GREENWAY. 
          AND THAT WOULD OBVIOUSLY BE, UM, ONE OF THE, UM, UH, POSSIBLE PATHWAYS, UH, YOU KNOW, LINKING, UM, THERE, WHERE WE HAVE AT 12TH, OR I'M SORRY, WE CALL IT A LOT 12 AT, UH, SAN JACINTO AND MLK IS THAT THAT'S WHERE THE CONSTRUCTION TRAILERS ARE, RIGHT? YES. 
          THAT'S WHERE THE CONSTRUCTION TRAILER THAT IS LONG-TERM TO YOUR QUESTION THERE, ACTUALLY, WE DID SLATE THAT TO BE A PARK, UH, HOW WE CAN TIE THAT THESE ARE MORE LIKE PEARLS IF YOU WOULD, UH, SOMEWHAT STRONG FAR APART. 
          UM, BUT THERE ARE OTHER, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A 15TH STREET CORRIDOR, THERE'S A 17TH STREET CORRIDOR. 
          YOU KNOW, THESE ARE STREETS THAT MAKE IT TO TRINITY AND ONE WOULD THEN THINK OFFER OPPORTUNITIES TO SLIP INTO THE WALLER CREEK RIPARIAN SYSTEM. 
          UM, UH, BUT, UH, THERE HASN'T BEEN ANY ACTIVE PLANNING TO, UH, LINK THE TWO TOGETHER, MAYBE A CONVERSATION WITH THE FOLKS AT THE WATERLOO GREENWAY MIKE. 
          AND I KNOW YOU ALL ARE ALWAYS IN TOUCH WITH, WE WE'VE FOUND THEM TO BE A GOOD PARTNERS AND THAT PROBABLY NOT A BAD CONGESTION. 
          THEN YOU HAVE YOUR FRIENDS AT THE DAA RIGHT BEHIND YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I DO. 
          I DO HAVE A RESOLUTION IF NOBODY HAS ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS, UM, YOU GOT TO TAKE MY GLASSES OFF TO READ IT BECAUSE IT'S SMALL PRINT. 
          UH, THIS IS A RESOLUTION ADDRESSING MOBILITY FUNDS FOR AND SCRATCH BOND FUNDS, MOBILITY FUNDS FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF CONGRESS AVENUE AND MARTIN LUTHER MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BOULEVARD INTERSECTION. 
          WHEREAS THE STATE OF TEXAS INITIATED AND IS NEARING COMPLETION OF THE TEXAS CAPITOL MALL EXTENDING FROM 15TH STREET TO MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BOULEVARD AT AN ESTIMATED COST OF $76.1 MILLION. 
          AND I HOPE THAT NUMBER IS STILL GOOD. 
          WHEREAS THE BLAND MUSEUM OF ART ADJACENT THAT WELCOMES APPROXIMATELY 200,000 VISITORS ANNUALLY IS COMPLETING ITS GRANTS INITIATIVE, DESIGNED TO UNIFY AND REVITALIZE THE BLANTON CAMPUS AT AN ESTIMATED COST OF 35 MILLION. 
          WHEREAS THE BOB BULLOCK, TEXAS 
          [00:35:01]
HISTORY MUSEUM ADJACENT WELCOMED ALMOST HALF A MILLION VISITORS AND OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND STUDENTS IN 2019. 
          AND WE HOPE THAT THOSE NUMBERS REBOUND, PARTICULARLY AFTER CONSTRUCTION. 
          THAT'S NOT PART OF THE RESOLUTION. 
          UM, WHEREAS, UH, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS WITH AN ENROLLMENT OF 52,000 STUDENTS, 3,100 FACULTY AND THOUSANDS OF STAFF MEMBERS LAWS TO THE NORTH OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BOULEVARD IN THE CAPITOL COMPLEX WITH APPROXIMATELY 14,000 EMPLOYEES LIVES IMMEDIATELY SOUTH, WHEREAS MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BOULEVARD IS IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S RIGHT AWAY. 
          WHEREAS THE COMPLETION OF PROJECTS AT THE INTERSECTION OF CONGRESS AVENUE AND MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BOULEVARD WILL DRAMATICALLY INCREASE PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC OF ALL AGES AND ABILITIES. 
          AND WHEREAS MULTIMODAL CONNECTIONS COMFORTABLY AND SAFELY BRIDGING MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BOULEVARD FOR BOTH RESIDENTS AND VISITORS TO AUSTIN, BETWEEN THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS CAMPUS MUSEUMS, THE TEXAS CAPITOL MALL, THE CAPITAL COMPLEX AND DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ARE BENEFICIAL, CRITICAL, AND ESSENTIAL. 
          AND WHEREAS THE CITY OF BOSTON HAS ADOPTED VISION ZERO, ZERO AS AN HOLISTIC STRATEGY TO END TRAFFIC RELATED FATALITIES AND SERIOUS INJURIES WHILE INCREASING SAFE, HEALTHY, AND EQUITABLE MOBILITY FOR ALL CONSISTENT WITH INITIATIVES LIKE THE INTERSECTION SAFETY VISION ZERO PROGRAM, THE AUSTIN AND THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN. 
          AND WHEREAS THE CITY BOSTON HAS INCREASED ELEMENTS FOR PEDESTRIAN SAFETY, SUCH AS REDUCED PEDESTRIAN CROSSING LENGTHS, ENHANCED PEDESTRIAN SIGNALIZATION, AND CROSSING REFUGES AND HIGHER TRAFFIC ROADWAYS THROUGHOUT THE CITY. 
          NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION OR JUST THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL TO DIRECT THE CITY MANAGER TO IMMEDIATELY IDENTIFY AND COMMIT NOT MORE THAN $500,000 FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF PEDESTRIAN ENHANCEMENTS AT THE INTERSECTION OF CONGRESS AVENUE IN MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BOULEVARD, TO COLLABORATE WITH THE STATE PRESERVATION BOARD AND THE TEXAS FACILITIES COMMISSION ON A DESIGN TO CREATE A UNIQUE PEDESTRIAN CROSSING THAT ENHANCES AND PROMOTES THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, THE STATE OF TEXAS AND THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, AND TO PROVIDE ALL NECESSARY SUPPORT, INCLUDING EXPEDITING ANY NECESSARY PERMITTING TO ALLOW FOR COMPLETION OF THE INTERSECTION WITH ALL DUE HASTE. 
          DO I HAVE A SECOND, SECOND? I'VE GOT A SECOND, UH, COMMENTS, QUESTIONS CHANGES. 
          WHEN YOU ASKED FOR COOPERATION WITH THE STATE AND THE CITY, DID YOU ALSO INCLUDE UT FOR COOPERATION? UH DIDN'T IS THAT ON PURPOSE? I ACCEPT THAT AS A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT. 
          I THOUGHT YOU DIDN'T SAY UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, UH, I SAID IT'S PART OF THE PARTNERSHIP, BUT I SAID TO COLLABORATE WITH THE STATE PRESERVATION BOARD AND THE TEXAS FACILITIES COMMISSION. 
          UNDERSTOOD. 
          SO, UH, AFTER STATE PRESERVATION BOARD COMMA, THE TEXAS FACILITIES COMMISSION AND THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, I HAVE A QUESTION. 
          SO IF WE DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE A DESIGN, HOW DO WE KNOW HOW MUCH WE SHOULD SUGGEST AS A CAP? WELL, THIS IS A NOT TO EXCEED TO BE FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE. 
          OKAY. 
          SO IF IT, IF IT RUNS MORE THAN THAT, THEY CAN FIGURE IT OUT, BUT WE'RE BEING FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE, I THINK. 
          SO THAT WAS THE INTENT. 
          UH, AND THERE'S NO DIRECTION ABOUT WHERE THE FUNDS COME FROM. 
          THAT'S UP TO THE CITY MANAGER AND STAFF TO FIGURE OUT YES, MA'AM, UH, FRIENDLY AMENDMENT, UH, SUGGESTION, UM, TO COLLABORATE WITH DESIGN COMMISSION, TO INCORPORATE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES. 
          HOW ABOUT WITH, BECAUSE THERE'LL BE OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS THAT WENT AWAY AND, UM, AND, AND MORE BROADLY, THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS, UM, ENCOMPASSES THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT ALL RIGHT. 
          YEAH. 
          I JUST, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF POTENTIAL TO KIND OF ENHANCE AND CLARIFY THE PROGRAM THAT COULD BE HELPFUL AND MOVING ON TO THE OTHER SECTIONS OF THE CITY. 
          UH, I DON'T KNOW. 
          UM, SO NO, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO SAY. 
          I JUST, YOU KNOW, HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION, THE URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, THEY WOULD ALL WANT TO WEIGH IN AND BE A PART OF THIS PROCESS IN A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS. 
          UM, AND SO TO NUMERATE EACH COMMISSION THAT IT MIGHT GO THROUGH MY B IS THAT OKAY? 
          [00:40:05]
I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO NAME THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES AS A TOOL TO HELP CLARIFY THE GOALS OF THE PROJECT, WHICH ARE A LITTLE BIT UNCLEAR AT THIS POINT. 
          TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES WOULD AFFECT A PEDESTRIAN CROSSING. 
          RIGHT. 
          SO THEY'RE BASICALLY CREATED FOR PEDESTRIANS, UM, TOO, AND THEY ADDRESS REALLY ALL OF THE QUESTIONS, UM, THAT WE JUST TALKED ABOUT HERE. 
          UM, SO IF I WERE GOING TO NAME A FEW, UM, I DID NOT PRINT THEM OUT AND BRING THEM WITH ME. 
          UM, THEY WERE REALLY SHAPED FOR THE PEDESTRIAN EXPERIENCE. 
          UM, SO I JUST, I THINK IT COULD BE REALLY HELPFUL AND ADDRESSING THE APPLICANTS, NOT THE APPLICANTS PRESENT THE PRESENTERS QUESTIONS. 
          OKAY. 
          SO, UM, TO CREATE A UNIQUE PEDESTRIAN CROSSING THAT EMBRACES CONSISTENT WITH THE URBAN DESIGN THAT IS CONSISTENT LABOR TO AN ATTORNEY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COMMISSIONER IS SMALL. 
          THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          SO, UH, THAT WOULD BE TO COLLABORATE WITH THE STATE PRESERVATION BOARD, THE TEXAS FACILITIES COMMISSION, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN TO CREATE A UNIQUE PEDESTRIAN CROSSING THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES, UH, AND PROMOTES, UH, THAT ENHANCES AND PROMOTES THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY OF BOSTON, THE STATE OF TEXAS AND THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS. 
          OKAY. 
          EXCEPT THAT, UH, ANYTHING ELSE? OKAY. 
          UM, WELL THEN I'LL CALL QUESTION. 
          DO WE HAVE, UM, ALL, EXCUSE ME, I'M SORRY, CHAIR. 
          I THINK, UH, COMMISSIONER WEATHERBY. 
          OH YEAH. 
          SORRY. 
          I DIDN'T HAVE MY SHIRT. 
          I DIDN'T HAVE MY GLASSES ON THAT'S ALL RIGHT. 
          THERE ARE SAFETY ELEMENTS AND I THINK THE CITY TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT WOULD HAVE TO BE INVOLVED, BUT I DON'T THINK IT NEEDS TO BE CALLED OUT BECAUSE IT'S A REQUIREMENT BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, BASED ON THE ENGINEERING OF WHATEVER THE DESIGN MIGHT BE. 
          SO I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT. 
          I MEAN, I THINK REFERRING TO THE CITY IS ENOUGH FOR AT LEAST FOR TRANSPORTATION. 
          SMELL MY COMMENT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MA'AM OKAY. 
          ALL IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION AS AMENDED, PLEASE SAY, AYE. 
          AYE. 
          OPPOSED. 
          EXTENSIVELY CHAIR. 
          DO WE NEED A MOTION TO MOVE IN SECOND? WE'VE ALREADY HAD A MOTION AND SO WE ALREADY HAD A MOTION A SECOND. 
          OKAY. 
          CAN YOU PLEASE REPEAT FOR MY POOR CELL? WHO MOVED IT? SORRY. 
          OKAY. 
          OKAY. 
          COMMISSIONER. 
          SURE. 
          SECOND. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I'M SO SORRY. 
          THAT'S WHY I MISSED IT. 
          AND WE PROBABLY SHOULD VOTE ON THE AMEND THE TWO FRIENDLY AMENDMENTS THAT WERE MADE AND THEN GO BACK TO THE MAIN MOTION. 
          SO, UM, THE FRIENDLY AMENDMENT, UH, I'LL MOVE ADOPTION OF THE FRIENDLY AMENDMENTS. 
          I SECOND, I HAVE A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER. 
          MEISENBACH ALL IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION AS AMENDED, PLEASE SAY AYE. 
          AYE. 
          OPPOSED. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OPPOSED HEARING NONE. 
          THE AMENDED MOTION PASSES. 
          I THINK I GOT MY ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDER FAIRLY RIGHT. 
          EXCELLENT. 
          WELL, I'M, I'M LOOKING ACROSS AT THE GUY WHO HAS TO GO TO A LOT OF STATE HEARINGS. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO WE WILL GET THIS OVER TO COUNSEL, UH, AND HOPEFULLY YOU'LL GET TO SEE SOME OTHER, UH, HARDWORKING FOLKS AT OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AS WE GET THIS THING MOVING FORWARD. 
          WE'RE ALL TERRIBLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS PROJECT. 
          WELL, WE'RE EXCITED TOO, AND WE THANK YOU. 
          AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THE CITY DEPARTMENTS ON MAKING THIS HAPPEN. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU EVERYONE. 
          OKAY. 
          NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS, 
          [2b. Downtown Homelessness Activity]
UH, DOWNTOWN HOMELESSNESS, HOMELESSNESS ACTIVITY. 
          I'M SORRY. 
          THE DEANNA GREAT. 
          WAS NOT ABLE TO ATTEND, SO SHE WASN'T SURE. 
          I'M SORRY, SIR. 
          OH, IS SHE HERE? OKAY, PLEASE. 
          YES. 
          PLEASE MOVE HER OVER. 
          SO SHE WASN'T ABLE TO MEET IN PERSON. 
          THANK YOU. 
          [00:45:01]
SORRY. 
          SORRY, DIANA. 
          GREAT. 
          I'M FLYING SOLO TODAY. 
          WE'RE NO WORRY. 
          WE'RE MAKING THE MAGIC HAPPEN OR NOT. 
          GREAT. 
          WELCOME. 
          UM, THANK YOU. 
          UH, OF COURSE, CLERICAL UNMUTE AS CONSERVES TALKING TO MYSELF, I'M HERE. 
          I'M PAYING FOR IT IN THE BACKGROUND. 
          UM, UH, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME THIS EVENING. 
          DIANA GRAY AND TO SERVICE THE HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICER FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          AND, UM, I, THE HOME STRATEGY DIVISION IS A FAIRLY NEW DIVISION THAT WAS CREATED AT THE BEGINNING OF 20, UH, 20, UM, AND SITS WITHIN AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH. 
          BUT REALLY ONE OF OUR PRIMARY GOALS IS, UH, AS WELL AS IDENTIFYING STRATEGIES FOR THE CITY AROUND THIS ISSUE. 
          ALSO DOING AN AWFUL LOT OF CROSS-DEPARTMENTAL COORDINATION, UH, BECAUSE, UH, THIS ISSUE, UH, PRINCIPALLY, UH, PEOPLE THINK ABOUT OUR SOCIAL SERVICE FUNDING THROUGH US IN PUBLIC HEALTH AND OUR HOUSING DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT, BUT WE TOUCH, UM, EASILY 19 DEPARTMENTS IN ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. 
          AND SO TODAY, UH, I'M GONNA, UH, GIVE A GENERAL OVERVIEW OF, UM, OF SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT HAVE BEEN OCCURRING OVER THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS. 
          WE'LL TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT OF THAT IN THE CONTEXT OF DOWNTOWN, BUT THEN BE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE. 
          IF WE CAN SHARE THE POWERPOINT CAPITAL. 
          GIVE ME ONE SECOND TO BRING THAT UP. 
          I BELIEVE IT WAS, UH, IT WAS ANOTHER POWERPOINT IT WAS THE AMOUNT OF CIRCULATED IT EARLIER YET. 
          AGREE. 
          THIS IS THE AB TECH. 
          WE MIGHT MAKE YOU A PRESENTER. 
          IF YOU CAN SHARE IT ON YOUR END, WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO THAT? I AM. 
          UH, SO I AM ACTUALLY LOGGED IN TWO WAYS BECAUSE I WAS HAVING SOME AUDIO ISSUES. 
          UM, IF YOU ALLOW ME TO SHARE IN BOTH SPACES, I BE SURE, BUT LET'S GIVE YOU THOSE PRIVILEGES AND SEE IF THAT WORKS OUT SO I AM JOINED, UM, BOTH ON MY LAPTOP AND ON MY PHONE, THE PERMISSION I WAS JUST GIVEN, SHOWED ON MY PHONE. 
          ARE YOU ABLE TO SEE IF CAN HAVE, SO IF YOUR OTHER, IF THE CURRENT LOGIN WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO SHOW YOUR PRESENTATION, THAT CAN TRY THE OTHER ONE FOR SURE. 
          LET ME SEE IF THAT WORKS OUT. 
          OKAY. 
          ONE MOMENT. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          ARE YOU ONLY ABLE TO SEE? YEAH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          SO, UH, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF TOPICS I'M GOING TO COVER TODAY. 
          UM, ONE IS JUST GENERALLY SORT OF, UH, IMPACT OF THE CAMPING ORDINANCES AS WELL AS THE HEAL INITIATIVE, UH, ON DOWNTOWN, UH, AND, UH, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS IN THAT SPACE. 
          UH, THEN TALK ABOUT, UM, THE SUMMIT, UH, TO AN UNSHELTERED. 
          HOMELESSNESS WAS THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE WAS REALLY CRITICAL IN, UM, SPEARHEADING AND THE CITY'S, UH, INVESTMENTS IN THAT PLAN, THE INVESTMENT PLAN THAT CAME OUT OF THAT SUMMIT, UH, THAT EFFORT IS NOW KNOWN AS FINDING HOW MAY TX, UM, BE SPEAKING ABOUT THE VERY SUBSTANTIAL. 
          SO THE FULL SERVICE AND HOUSING SOLICITATIONS THAT WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF TO MOVE THOSE RESOURCES INTO THE COMMUNITY, UH, SPEAK TO PRODUCTION OF BRICKS AND MORTAR UNITS. 
          AND THEN ACTUALLY I DID LEAVE OFF COLD WEATHER SHELTER, AND CRISIS SHELTER HERE, UM, UH, IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT IF CON COMMISSIONERS HAVE, UH, HAVE INTEREST. 
          SO THIS COMES FROM DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE, AND, UM, AS YOU LIKELY KNOW, THEY DO A MONTHLY ESTIMATE OF UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA. 
          UM, THIS IS BASED ON OBSERVATION. 
          SO, UH, IT'S BASED ON OBSERVATION OF INDIVIDUALS, OBSERVATION OF TENTS OBSERVED 
          [00:50:01]
EMANATION, UM, VEHICLES THAT APPEAR TO BE OCCUPIED. 
          AND SO YOU SEE THAT THIS IS FROM MAY OF 2021 THROUGH APRIL OF 2022, UM, A MARKET DECREASE IN THEIR OBSERVATION. 
          IT'LL TELL YOU THAT. 
          I THINK THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO PERFECT METHODOLOGY FOR TAKING A CENSUS OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS. 
          UM, AND THIS IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT OUR LOCAL COALITION, UH, IN THEIR CITY-WIDE, UH, WHAT THEY CALL A POINT-IN-TIME COUNT. 
          BUT I THINK THE TRENDING IS STILL VERY INFORMATIVE IN TERMS OF WHAT THEY'RE SEEING, UM, FROM MAY COMPARED TO THIS APRIL. 
          AND SO TALKING ABOUT SORT OF WHAT SOME OF THE SOURCES OF THAT CHANGE ARE, I WOULD SAY OBVIOUSLY, AND, YOU KNOW, THAT SLIDE WAS FRAMED FROM THE TIME OF THE, UM, THE BALLOT INITIATIVE THAT REINSTATED THE CAMPING ORDINANCE IS HERE IN AUSTIN. 
          UH, AND ALSO, UH, IN, IN THAT ORDINANCE BECAME, UM, EFFECTIVE, THEY STARTED ENFORCEMENT IN AUGUST, BUT DOING OUTREACH AND EDUCATION BEFORE THAT, AND THEN THE STATE PASSED US A STATEWIDE BAN ON CON EXCUSE ME, PUBLIC CAMPING, UM, THAT BECAME EFFECTIVE ON SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2021. 
          SO IN TERMS OF THE REDUCTION, UM, IN DOWNTOWN, I WOULD SAY THERE ARE THREE ELEMENTS THAT REALLY IMPACT THAT ONE IS THE VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE. 
          AND SO CERTAINLY DURING THAT PERIOD IN WHICH, UM, AUSTIN, UH, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, OUR HOST TEAM, ET CETERA, WHERE WE'RE LETTING FOLKS KNOW ABOUT THE NEW ORDINANCES WE SAW ACROSS THE CITY, PEOPLE MOVE FROM MORE VISIBLE LOCATIONS, UM, MANY CASES INTO THE WOODS. 
          AND SO WE KNOW THAT THE CAMPING ORDINANCE HAS ALONE DO NOT DECREASE UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS, TYPICALLY. 
          UH, IT DOES MOVE FOLKS INTO OTHER LOCATIONS, AND WE ARE SEEING THAT IN PARTICULAR IN SOME OF OUR, OUR PARKLANDS ACROSS THE CITY. 
          UM, BUT, UH, THERE HAS BEEN ALSO FRANK ENFORCEMENT. 
          AND SO WHEN INDIVIDUALS HAVE NOT VOLUNTARILY RELOCATED, UH, THERE HAVE BEEN, UH, AT THE END OF ABOUT A MONTH AGO, 242 CITATIONS ISSUED FROM THAT AUGUST, UM, DATE THROUGH THE, ROUGHLY THE END OF APRIL. 
          UM, THE THIRD PIECE, WHICH I THINK IS REALLY SIGNIFICANT IF NOT IN OVERALL NUMBERS, IN IMPACT AND IN ACTUALLY ADDRESSING THE ISSUE IS THE HEAL INITIATIVE. 
          AND THE HEAL INITIATIVE WAS PASSED BY COUNCIL IN FEBRUARY OF 2021. 
          IT STANDS FOR THE HOUSING FOCUSED ENCAMPMENT ASSISTANCE LINK, AND THIS INITIATIVE, UH, IDENTIFIES ENCAMPMENTS IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, THAT HAVE THE GREATEST PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY CONCERNS, UM, BOTH FOR THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE, AND FOR THE INHABITANTS OF THAT PARTICULAR ENCAMPMENT. 
          WE LOOK AT, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, PEOPLE LIVING WITH DISABILITIES AND, UM, AND MOBILITY ISSUES THAT HAVE TO USE ASSISTED DEVICES. 
          UM, AND WE HAVE ABOUT A 40 POINT SCORING ASSESSMENT THAT ALLOWS US TO RANK THOSE, FRANKLY, WE KNOW IT'S NOT SAFE FOR ANYONE TO LIVE OUTSIDE, BUT HEAL INITIATIVE BRINGS SIGNIFICANT RESOURCES TO THOSE ENCAMPMENT RESOLUTIONS. 
          IN PARTICULAR, WE OFFER EVERYONE IN THAT ENCAMPMENT TRANSFER TO A NON CONGREGATE SHELTER. 
          WE CALL IT A BRIDGE SHELTER. 
          UM, WHEN I SAY NON CONGREGATE IN THIS, THAT JUST MEANS PEOPLE HAVE PRIVATE SPACE. 
          UH, IN THIS CASE, WE ARE USING TWO HOTEL CONVERSIONS FOR THE BRIDGE SHELTER. 
          SO PEOPLE HAVE THEIR OWN ROOMS, UH, UNLESS THEY ARE A COUPLE, UH, OR ROOMMATES THAT WISH TO STAY TOGETHER. 
          UH, BUT THEY DO HAVE THAT PRIVACY AND SECURITY, UH, AND THEY ARE GIVEN, UM, A COMMITMENT OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE AND CASE MANAGEMENT AS THEY MOVE INTO PERMANENT HOUSING. 
          SO SOON AFTER TRANSPORT FOR A BRIDGE SHELTER, UH, THEY ARE ENROLLED WITH A SERVICE ORGANIZATION, THEY GET A CASE MANAGER AND THEY BEGIN THAT HOUSING SEARCH. 
          SO TO DATE, OUR FIRST, UM, OUR FIRST ENCAMPMENT RESOLUTION THROUGH THE HEAL INITIATIVE WAS IN JUNE OF 2021. 
          UH, WE HAVE SOLVED NINE CAMPUS, UH, SINCE THAT TIME, THE MOST RECENT OF WHICH WAS YESTERDAY. 
          AND SO THE LIST ON THE LEFT SHOWS THE LOCATIONS OF THOSE ENCAMPMENTS AND THE ONES WITH THE CHECK ARE THOSE THAT ARE EITHER IN DOWNTOWN OR, OR, OR IMMEDIATELY ON THE PERIPHERY OF DOWNTOWN. 
          SO WE HAVE, UM, SINCE WE STARTED THE INITIATIVE, WE'VE RELOCATED 256 PEOPLE FROM THE MAIN CAMPUS AT THIS 
          [00:55:01]
FISCAL YEAR, COUNCIL SET A GOAL FOR US OF SERVING 200 PEOPLE. 
          WE ARE NOW AT APPROXIMATELY 120, UH, AND SO, UM, PRETTY CLOSE TO ON TRACK TO MEET THAT GOAL. 
          UH, ACTUALLY HAVEN'T DONE THE MATH YET SINCE WE GOT THE NUMBER PERSON YESTERDAY. 
          UH, BUT, UH, WE ARE, YOU KNOW, MOVING A PACE TO, UH, TO RELOCATE THAT NUMBER OF PEOPLE. 
          SOMETHING I THINK IS REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT HERE IS THAT YOU WILL OFTEN HEAR THE CONCERN, UM, FROM FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE EXPERIENCING UNSHELTERED, HOMELESSNESS, UH, WANT TO BE LIVING UNSHELTERED AND DON'T WANT SERVICES. 
          UH, WE DON'T FORCE ANYONE TO COME INTO SHELTER. 
          THEY CAN SIMPLY RELOCATE AND LEAVE THE ENCAMPMENT SPACE IF THEY WANT, BUT TO DATE WE'VE HAD OVER 90% OF INDIVIDUALS OFFERED TRANSFER SHELTER TAKEN. 
          WE DO TRACK, UM, THE, THE RACIAL DEMOGRAPHICS OF, UM, OH, THE PEOPLE SERVE THROUGH HEAL. 
          AND THIS IS PARTICULARLY BECAUSE THERE WERE CONCERNS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT BY VIRTUE OF TARGETING SPECIFIC ENCAMPMENTS, WE MIGHT SEE SOME INEQUITIES IN PEOPLE SERVED, UH, BECAUSE OF COURSE EACH ENCAMPMENT HAS, UH, DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS, UH, AS WELL AS DEMOGRAPHICS. 
          AND IN PARTICULAR, UH, WE PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE RATIO OF AFRICAN AMERICAN SERVED, UH, COMPARED TO THEIR PREVALENCE IN THE OVERALL POPULATION OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, BECAUSE THEY ARE SO DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY HOMELESSNESS, UH, UH, AFRICAN-AMERICANS CONSTITUTE 8% OF OUR OVERALL POPULATION. 
          UM, BUT THEY, UH, CONSTITUTE 37% OF THOSE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS. 
          AND SO YOU SEE HERE THAT, UM, TODAY ABOUT 40% OF THOSE SERVED THROUGH HEAL HAVE BEEN AFRICAN-AMERICAN. 
          SO THE HEAL INITIATIVE IS, IS OF COURSE, JUST A SMALL PORT, HEART, EVERYTHING THE CITY DOES AROUND HOMELESSNESS. 
          UM, WE HAVE EXPENDITURES, UH, BEFORE WE ENTERED INTO THE SUMMIT INVESTMENT PLAN OF AROUND $30 MILLION A YEAR THAT GO INTO OUR SHELTER OPERATORS. 
          IT GOES TO OUR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS LIKE CARITAS, FRONT STEPS, SALVATION ARMY, UM, UH, LIFEWORKS, SAFE, ET CETERA, WHO PROVIDE HOUSING SERVICES, UM, BOTH IN PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING AND RAPID REHOUSING IN, UH, PREVENTION, UH, IN SHELTER, OPERATIONS, ET CETERA. 
          AND SO WHILE THAT IS A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT, UH, IN OPERATING DOLLARS, REALLY WHEN WE LOOK AT THE SCALE OF THE PROBLEM, WE AS A COMMUNITY HAVE NEVER REALLY PROVIDED THE RESOURCING TO GET US, UM, TO THE PLACE OF THE, UM, THE VOLUME OF FOLKS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS IN OUR COMMUNITY. 
          AND BECAUSE OF THAT, WE'VE HAD PEOPLE SITTING ON THE STREETS WAITING FOR SERVICES IN, IN MANY CASES FOR YEARS. 
          SO IN SPRING OF 2021, THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE, ALONG WITH THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND OUR LOCAL HOMELESS COALITION ECHO DECIDED TO HOLD A SUMMIT TO TALK ABOUT HOW WE COULD REALLY MOVE THE NEEDLE ON UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS IN PARTICULAR. 
          UH, THEY INVITED THE CITY IN AS WELL AS THE COUNTY, UM, AND REALLY A WIDE RANGE OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND CAME UP WITH, UM, A STRATEGY THAT WOULD, UH, DO A COUPLE OF THINGS, UH, AT A HIGH LEVEL. 
          ONE IS THAT WE WOULD OVER THE COURSE OF ABOUT THREE YEARS, REHOUSED AN ADDITIONAL 3000 PEOPLE OVER OUR BASELINE. 
          SO WE TYPICALLY REHOUSED THROUGH OUR SYSTEM ABOUT 1800 PEOPLE A YEAR. 
          UH, BUT HERE THROUGH THIS EFFORT PROPOSED TO, UH, INCREASE THAT BY 3000 PEOPLE OVER THE THREE YEARS NOT ANNUALLY. 
          UM, AND AS PART OF THIS ALSO TO, UH, CREATE 1300 UNITS OF BRICK AND MORTAR HOUSING SET ASIDE FOR PEOPLE EXITING HOMELESSNESS, THIS IS REALLY CRITICAL BECAUSE, UH, WHAT WE FIND WHAT WE'VE ALWAYS FOUND, BUT YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT THIS HAS ONLY BECOME MUCH MORE DIFFICULT IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS, IS THAT EVEN WHEN PEOPLE HAVE HOUSING SUBSIDIES, IT CAN BE VERY, VERY DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO FIND UNITS IN THE MARKET. 
          AND SO HAVING SOME UNITS, UM, SOME SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF UNITS SET ASIDE FOR THIS POPULATION IS REALLY CRITICAL. 
          UM, UM, SO BETWEEN SERVICES AND CAPITAL INVESTMENTS, UH, THE INVESTMENT PLAN THAT CAME OUT OF THIS SUMMIT, UM, IS 515 MILLION OVER HALF OF THAT IS CAPITAL FOR THE HOUSING UNITS I DISCUSSED, I DISCUSSED, UM, 218 MILLION FOR PROGRAMS. UM, THERE IS 20 MILLION 
          [01:00:01]
IN THIS PLAN THAT IS REALLY ABOUT INVESTING IN SYSTEMS. AND IN ORGANIZATIONS, WE ARE ASKING OUR NONPROFITS TO INCREASE SCALE AT A VERY SIGNIFICANT LEVEL. 
          AND SO WE ARE SETTING ASIDE A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THE MONEY TO HELP THOSE ORGANIZATIONS BUILD CAPACITY, BOTH EXISTING PROVIDERS IN THE SPACE, UH, AND SOME ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN DOING THIS AT A SMALLER SCALE, BUT ARE, UH, POISED TO GROW, UH, AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DO HAVE SOME SUPPORT FOR, UH, TEMPORARY STAFF WITHIN THE CITY INFRASTRUCTURE AND OUR COALITION TO HANDLE MOVING THIS IMMENSE AMOUNT OF, OF RESOURCES. 
          SO OF THAT 515 MILLION, WHEN WE, UH, COMPLETED THE PLAN, WE HAD ABOUT 200 MILLION IDENTIFIED THROUGH EXISTING FUNDING STREAMS THAT WE THOUGHT WE COULD CAPTURE. 
          UH, THE CITY HAD ALREADY SET ASIDE SOME GENERAL FUND, UH, THAT HAD NOT YET BEEN COMMITTED. 
          WE OF COURSE HAVE GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS THAT HAD NOT ALL BEEN COMMITTED. 
          WE LOOKED AT STATE SOURCES OF FINANCING AT OUR HOUSING AUTHORITIES, ET CETERA. 
          AND SO WE HAD ABOUT A $300 MILLION GAP. 
          SINCE THAT TIME, THE COUNTY HAS DEDICATED ABOUT $110 MILLION TOWARD HOMELESSNESS OF THEIR AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT FUNDS. 
          AND THE CITY HAS DEDICATED 106.7 MILLION OF OUR AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT FUNDS OR THIS EFFORT. 
          SO WE ACTUALLY WILL BE REPORTING TO COUNCIL IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS WITH UPDATED NUMBERS. 
          BUT AS OF FEBRUARY, WE WERE AT 415 MILLION OF THE TOTAL $515 MILLION PRICE TAG, IF YOU WILL. 
          AND THIS GRAPH SHOWS REALLY KIND OF WHAT THE GAP WAS TO BE RAISED IN THE VARIOUS, UH, IN THE VARIOUS CATEGORIES. 
          UM, THERE IS A LEADERSHIP GROUP OF FINDING HOME ATX THAT IS WORKING HARD TO, UM, TO IDENTIFY PHILANTHROPIC DONORS AND WE'VE HAD SOME SIGNIFICANT DONATIONS ALREADY, SO THAT WORK IS ONGOING. 
          AND OF COURSE, WE CONTINUE TO SCAN THE ENVIRONMENT FOR ANY, UH, NON-LOCAL FUNDS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO OUR EFFORTS. 
          THE STATE DOES HAVE SOME OPEN MONEY AS WELL, UM, THAT SOME OF OUR, OUR LOCAL PROVIDERS MAY BE ABLE TO LEVERAGE, FOR EXAMPLE, FOR THEIR HOUSING DEVELOPMENT. 
          SO I MENTIONED THAT THE CITY, UM, DEDICATED AT 106.7 MILLION, THIS CHART SHOWS REALLY JUST HOW WE DISTRIBUTED THOSE FUNDS ACROSS, UH, THE SUMMIT INVESTMENT CATEGORIES. 
          AND REALLY OUR GOAL HERE WAS TO ENSURE THAT WE WERE SEEDING ACTIVITIES IN EACH OF THE CATEGORIES, UM, THAT WE, UM, BUT ALSO THAT WE WERE BEING SENSITIVE TO WHERE PRIVATE MONEY WAS LIKELY TO COME IN, WHICH WE PRESUMED AND HAS LARGELY BEEN BORN OUT THAT IS MOSTLY IN CAPITAL. 
          UM, AND SO WHILE WE HAVE 25 MILLION IN CAPITAL, CAPITAL'S 50% OF THE OVERALL INVESTMENT PLAN. 
          UM, AND WE HAVE NOW BEGUN TO MOVE THESE FUNDS, UH, INTO THE IMPLEMENTATION IMPLEMENTATION STAGE, BOTH WITHIN THE CITY, BUT LARGELY, UM, LARGELY THROUGH REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE PROVIDERS. 
          SO OF THE 107 MILLION, MOST OF THE MONEY IS GOING TO BE MOVED THROUGH SOCIAL SERVICE CONTRACTS, UM, AT AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH. 
          UH, THAT TOTAL IS ABOUT $79 MILLION OF AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT FUNDS. 
          AND, UH, BECAUSE OF THE SIZE AND THE COMPLEXITY OF THESE, UH, SOLICITATION PROCESSES, UH, APH DETERMINED THAT THEY WANTED TO DO THIS IN A PHASED APPROACH. 
          AND SO WE HAVE AT LEAST THREE SOLICITATIONS, TWO OF WHICH HAVE ALREADY CLOSED. 
          I WILL SAY THAT THE NUMBERS YOU SEE HERE IS A COMBINATION OF ARPA AND SOME GENERAL FUNDS THAT HAVE BEEN RECENTLY VISITED, BUT THE FIRST SOLICITATION WAS FOR PERMANENT HOUSING SERVICES FOR SO PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, RAPID REHOUSING, WHICH IS TIME LIMITED CASE MANAGEMENT AND, UM, AND RENTAL SUPPORTS, AND SOME OF THE SUPPORTIVE SERVICES FOR THOSE EFFORTS LIKE LANDLORD OUTREACH AND INCENTIVES, WE EXPECT AWARDS, UM, TO BE IDENTIFIED IN A BIND YOU. 
          AND SO YOU CAN EXPECT TO SEE THOSE MOVING TO COUNCIL RELATIVELY SOON, PHASE TWO HAS JUST CLOSED, AND THAT IS ABOUT $10 MILLION THAT IS SET ASIDE FOR SHELTER FOR INCREASED STREET OUTREACH, UM, AND FOR POTENTIAL, UH, PROJECTS LIKE DAY RESOURCE CENTERS OR RESPITE CARE, UH, WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY A SPECIALIZED SHELTER FOR PEOPLE WITH, UH, WITH 
          [01:05:01]
MEDICAL FRAGILITY, WHICH WE SEE A LOT OF, UM, IN THE UNSHELTERED POPULATION, WE ARE WORKING NOW ON A THIRD SOLICITATION, WHICH WILL, UM, FUND, UH, OTHER SUPPORTIVE SERVICES AS WELL AS ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING. 
          AND SO WHEN I SAY OTHER SUPPORTIVE SERVICES, THESE ARE SORT OF STANDALONE EFFORTS THAT WE KNOW ARE NEEDED AS, UM, AS SUPPORT TO THE CORE PROGRAMS, EMPLOYMENT SERVICES, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, AND ACCESS TO BENEFITS OR PRIMARY AMONG THEM. 
          SO AGAIN, WE EXPECT TO RELEASE THAT RFP, UH, IN LATE MAY OR EARLY JUNE. 
          AND JUST AS A GENERAL RULE, MOST OF THESE CONTRACTS WE ARE LOOKING TO HAVE IN PLACE BY OCTOBER 1ST FOR THE NEW FISCAL YEAR. 
          SO I MENTIONED THE, THE, THE GOALS OF THE FINDING HOME ATX, UH, FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE SUMMIT OF THREE 1300 UNITS OF, OF, OF BRICK AND MORTAR UNITS SET ASIDE FOR PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS. 
          BUT THAT IS A CONTINUATION OF EFFORTS THAT HAVE BEEN INCREASING OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS TO CREATE THIS TYPE OF UNIT. 
          AND SO THIS GRAPH REALLY SHOWS THE INCREASE IN THE PIPELINE FROM 2016 TO PRESENT. 
          UM, AND IT IS A CUMULATIVE REPRESENTATION OF HOW MANY UNITS WE THINK WE WILL HAVE, UH, IN SERVICE, UH, FOR EACH YEAR. 
          UM, UH, THIS GRAPH WAS DONE, UH, IN LATE 2021. 
          SO IT SHOWS THE UNITS THAT WE ALREADY HAD, UM, EXISTING IN 2021, WHICH WAS ABOUT 500, UH, THE PIPELINE UNITS, UM, ESSENTIALLY REPRESENT, UH, PROJECTS WHERE WE KNOW THERE IS SITE CONTROL. 
          IN MANY CASES, THOSE DEALS HAVE SOME FINANCING, UH, COMMITTED, EXCUSE ME. 
          AND THEN THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT WAS FORCED FUNDS THAT ARE EXPLICITLY SET ASIDE FOR THIS TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT, BUT WHERE, UM, PROJECTS MAY STILL BE IN THE CONCEPTUAL STAGE AND NOT, UH, AT THAT TIME, NOT QUITE READY FOR FINANCING. 
          SO I JUST THINK IT'S, IT'S, YOU KNOW, REALLY IMPORTANT KNOWING HOW MUCH WE HAVE STRUGGLED FINDING UNITS OR PEOPLE EXITING HOMELESSNESS, THAT WE ARE REALLY LOOKING AT A FOUR-FOLD INCREASE, UH, IN THE SPACE OF THREE YEARS, WHICH IS JUST, UH, A HUGE, HUGE CHANGE FOR OUR COMMUNITY. 
          SO WITH THAT, I WILL, UH, STOP THE PRESENTATION I'VE FINISHED AND, AND HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH COMMISSION QUESTIONS. 
          UH, NO QUESTIONS, ACTUALLY. 
          I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION, UM, IN YOUR EXPERIENCE, THE 214 CITATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN ISSUED, WHAT EFFECT DO THEY HAVE? IT'S 242. 
          I THINK IT'S THE END OF APRIL. 
          SO THOSE CITATIONS ARE TYPICALLY IF THEY'RE IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA, THEY ARE FUNNELED THROUGH THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY COURT. 
          UM, THIS IS A MISDEMEANOR, UH, CITATION. 
          AND SO, UM, FOLKS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, GO BEFORE HORROR AND THERE THEY'RE OFFERED ACCESS TO SOCIAL SERVICES, UM, IN MANY CASES, CASE MANAGEMENT OR, OR EVEN, YOU KNOW, IN SOME CASES, LIGHTER TOUCH SERVICES THAT HELP THEM GET THEIR DOCUMENTS IN ORDER, ET CETERA, THEY CAN DO COMMUNITY SERVICE. 
          UH, AND SO, YOU KNOW, WHILE IT IS NOT, UM, PARTICULARLY PUNITIVE, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT FINES ARE NOT VERY EFFECTIVE FOR THIS POPULATION, WE CERTAINLY SEE THAT MOST PEOPLE DO NOT WANT TO HAVE, UM, A CITATION IN THE PAST. 
          YOU KNOW, EVENTUALLY THOSE CITATIONS CAN TURN INTO WARRANTS IF THEY DON'T APPEAR, UM, BEFORE THE COURT FOR, UM, FOR THAT, UM, IN PROACTION. 
          UH, BUT I ALSO THINK THAT, UH, YOU FOLKS HAVE PROBABLY PREVIOUSLY HEARD FROM THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN COMMUNITY COURT STAFF, AND THEY CAN CERTAINLY PROVIDE MORE DETAIL ABOUT WHAT THEY SEE, UH, IN TERMS OF FOLKS, UH, OUTCOMES THROUGH THAT PROCESS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO I'D LIKE TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT. 
          I NOTED TOO THAT THERE WERE ONLY 242 CITATIONS, AND WE STILL SEE AN ACTIVE HOMELESS POPULATION, NOT ALL OVER DOWNTOWN, BUT CERTAINLY, UH, IN SOME AREAS. 
          AND, UH, I WAS WONDERING ABOUT UNDERSTANDING THAT THESE FOLKS DON'T HAVE THE RESOURCES TO PAY FINES AND THAT WOULDN'T NECESSARILY HAVE A POSITIVE OUTCOME. 
          UH, COMMUNITY SERVICE CERTAINLY MIGHT HAVE A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. 
          IS THAT NOT SOMETHING THAT IS MANDATORY WITH EACH OF THESE CITATIONS? AND WHY DO WE ONLY HAVE 242 ISSUED WHEN THE PROBLEM IS STILL VERY PREVALENT IN OUR PUBLIC SPACE AND IN OUR PARKS? YEAH. 
          SO LET ME START WITH THE SECOND, UM, THE 
          [01:10:01]
SECOND QUESTION FIRST, UM, MOST FOLKS WHEN APPROACHED BY AN OFFICER WILL MOVE, RIGHT? UH, AND, AND DON'T TYPICALLY GET A CITATION AND THEY ARE GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO MOVE BEFORE THEY ARE SELECTED. 
          UM, WE WORK PRETTY CLOSELY WITH A E AND WE HAVE MANY, MANY ENCAMPMENTS ACROSS THE COMMUNITY THAT ARE OF CONCERN. 
          AND SO THEY ARE WORKING TO WITH OUR OTHER DEPARTMENTS, WITH PARKS, WITH WATERSHED, UM, AS WELL AS WITH THE, THE, UH, DEPARTMENTS THAT HELPED WITH CLEANUP TO DETERMINE WHAT ARE THE FIRST PRIORITIES. 
          THEY CANNOT BE EVERYWHERE AT ONCE. 
          AND SO WE'RE REALLY LOOKING EVEN OUTSIDE OF THE HEAL INITIATIVE AT WHERE ARE THE ENCAMPMENTS OF GREATEST CONCERN. 
          UH, AND THEN THEY, THEY GO THERE WHILE PATROL OFFICERS CAN ISSUE CITATIONS, UM, JUST ON THEIR REGULAR BEATS, IF YOU WILL. 
          UM, THESE ARE OFTEN COMPLEX SITUATIONS BECAUSE THERE ARE BELONGINGS, UH, THAT THERE ARE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS AROUND HOW THEY ARE TREATED. 
          AND AN INDIVIDUAL OFFICER DOES NOT ALWAYS HAVE THE RE YOU KNOW, THE RESOURCES TO MOVE ALL OF THE BELONGINGS OF THE INDIVIDUAL. 
          SO I THINK THAT, UM, AGAIN, WE, WE DO SEE VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE, BUT VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE DOESN'T MEAN THOSE FOLKS DISAPPEAR, RIGHT? THEY SIMPLY, THEY MOVE FROM THE LOCATION, UH, WHEREVER THEY ARE, HAVE BEEN ASKED TO MOVE FROM. 
          UM, AND WE NOTED THAT TYPICALLY THEY NEED TO OTHER LOCATIONS. 
          SO I, I, HE IS A PUBLIC SPACE MANAGEMENT TOOL, BUT ENFORCEMENT ALONE IS I'M NOT GOING TO USE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF UNSHELTERED HOMELESS. 
          UH, AND THAT'S WHY, UH, THE, THE INCREASE IN RESOURCES AND SERVICES IS SO CRITICAL, UH, OVER ADOPTION, UM, IN THE POPULATION IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          DO YOU HAVE, AND I'M FORGETTING THE SECOND QUESTION. 
          WELL, SORRY. 
          THAT'S OKAY. 
          UM, ONE OTHER QUESTION. 
          DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE COSTS OF UP BOTH IN THE PUBLIC SPACE AND A CAMPSITE IS ON AN ANNUAL BASIS? AGAIN, WHAT WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THAT, BUT, UH, THE COMPLEXITY IS THAT WE HAVE MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE DOING CLEANUP. 
          SO, UH, PUBLIC WORKS, CLEANS UP ALONG, UM, RIGHT AWAY, UM, FOR OUR, OUR HIGHWAY AND FREEWAY SYSTEM. 
          UH, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY IS GENERALLY A LITTLE MORE FLEXIBLE PARK, DOES SOME OF ITS OPEN CLEANUPS, UM, AND WATERSHED HAD SOME CLEANUP CONTRACTS. 
          SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT AND I THINK WE'LL HAVE SOME INDICATORS SOON OF WHAT THOSE LARGER CONTRACTS ARE, UH, AS WELL AS POTENTIALLY THE, THE DEDICATION OF APP. 
          AND WE HAVE FEES TO, UM, REFUSE TO WASTE FACILITIES, BUT IT IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT TO CAPTURE. 
          I WILL DO VERY SPECIFIC EVENT AND THE MOST SIGNIFICANT GOING EXPENDITURE. 
          IT DOES COME WHEN WE CLEARING CAMPUS, UM, PARTICULARLY BECAUSE OF THE COURSE. 
          SO THE PEOPLE HERE, UM, THERE'S ENCAMPMENTS HAD HAD SOME CLEANUP AROUND THEM, BUT THERE'S A SUBSTANTIAL ACCUMULATION OF, UM, OF SOME TIMES, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE HAVE BUILT ENCLOSURES. 
          THEY, UM, THEY MAY HAVE FURNITURE, ET CETERA. 
          SO WE HAVE SEEN, UH, QUITE EXTENSIVE COST RELATED TO EVEN WHEN WE DO ON THE HEAL INITIATIVE. 
          IT HAD NO S THOSE, THOSE CLEANUPS TYPICALLY MOVE INTO THE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH, COMMISSIONER. 
          HI THERE. 
          UH, ALAN GRAHAM WOULD COMMUNITY FIRST VILLAGE, DOES EXCEPTIONAL WORK WITH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS? DOES THE CITY COLLABORATE WITH MR. GRAHAM AND IF NOT, WHY NOT? BECAUSE HE HAS A PROVEN SUCCESS, SUCCESSFUL TRACK RECORD, AND I'M AFRAID THE CITY DOES NOT, DOES NOT. 
          SO WHY DO YOU NOT, IF PERHAPS YOU DO COMMUTE, UH, COLLABORATE WITH ALAN GRAHAM, DO YOU, YEAH. 
          SO LET ME DESCRIBE SOME OF THE WAYS THAT THE CITY COLLABORATES WITH, UH, WITH MR. GRAHAM AND, AND COMMUNITY FIRST VILLAGE IN GENERAL, UM, COMMUNITY FIRST VILLAGE IS DOING AN EXPANSION RIGHT NOW, UH, BOTH A PARCEL ADJACENT TO THEIR CURRENT SITE. 
          AND THAT SITE DOWN SOUTH, UH, THE CITY HAS PROVIDED, I BELIEVE OVER $4 MILLION IN WAIVE FEES, UH, IN INFRASTRUCTURE COSTS. 
          IT IS IN THE ETJ. 
          UM, BUT I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT IS THAT, UM, HISTORICALLY, UH, MOBILE LOAVES AND FISHES STARTED OFF THEIR MODEL SAYING WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE PUBLIC MONEY. 
          UM, AND SO MOST OF THEIR CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN, UH, 
          [01:15:01]
PRIVATE DONATIONS. 
          THE LAND I BELIEVE WAS, UM, WAS DONATED BY THE COUNTY, BUT THE INDIVIDUALS WHO LIVED THERE VERY OFTEN COME WITH RENTAL SUBSIDIES AND SERVICES THAT ARE PAID FOR BY THE CITY. 
          SO FOR EXAMPLE, A FAMILY ELDER CARE OR CARITAS MIGHT HAVE A CLIENT, UM, THAT HAD NOW HAS THEIR CASE MANAGEMENT AND SEVERAL MONTHS TO A YEAR OR MORE OF, OF RENTAL SUBSIDY, THEY PLACE THAT INDIVIDUAL OUT AT COMMUNITY FIRST VILLAGE. 
          AND THAT RENTAL REVENUE IS REALLY, REALLY CRITICAL TO ENSURING THAT THAT PROPERTY, UM, CONTINUES TO, TO THE LOCAL HOMELESS COALITION, CONTINUE TO TALK WITH THEM ABOUT ONCE WE HAVE BEEN PART OF HER FURTHER. 
          WE'LL JUST SAY THAT FIRST VILLAGE IS A REALLY CRITICAL HOPE MS. DEANNA IN OUR COMMUNITY. 
          CAN SHE HEAR ME? MA'AM, YOU'RE CUTTING UP. 
          YOU MIGHT WANT TO TURN OFF YOUR VIDEO CAUSE YOU'RE CUTTING UP A LOT. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          TECHNOLOGY IS BETTER, BUT WE'RE JUST NOT ALL THERE YET. 
          IS THAT BETTER? YES. 
          YES. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          SO I, MY I'M NOT SURE HOW MUCH, UH, HOW MUCH WAS FUZZY, BUT I, THE LAST THING I WAS SAYING IS JUST THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT COMMUNITY FIRST VILLAGE IS EXPANSION AND HAVING A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM. 
          THEY'RE CERTAINLY BEING FUNDED, UM, THROUGH ALL OF THE, THE EFFORTS OF THE, UH, FINDING HOME ATX, BUT WE DO NEED DIFFERENT KIND OF HOUSING FOR DIFFERENT PEOPLE. 
          UM, SOME PEOPLE REALLY LOVE BEING FURTHER OUT OF TOWN IN A, YOU KNOW, MORE SORT OF, UH, OPEN AIR ENVIRONMENT. 
          AND THEN THERE ARE A LOT OF FOLKS WHO WOULD LIKE TO LIVE, UH, IN THE URBAN CORE, UH, CLOSER TO TRANSPORTATION AND JOBS. 
          AND SO IT IS NOT AN EITHER, OR IT IS A BOTH. 
          AND THANK YOU. 
          ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YES. 
          COMMISSIONER WEAVER. 
          UM, HI DIANA, I THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION TODAY. 
          UM, MY QUESTION HAS LESS TO DO WITH THE NUMBERS OF HOMELESS PEOPLE, BUT MORE JUST KIND OF PROTECTIONS PROVIDED IN HOMELESS SHELTERS. 
          UM, HOMELESS SHELTERS, UH, CAN BE A HAVEN FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT. 
          WHAT PROTECTIONS ARE GIVEN FOR WOMEN AND SHELTER. 
          I'M GLAD YOU ASKED THAT. 
          SO, UM, FIRST OF ALL, MOST OF OUR SHELTERS DO SEPARATE BY GENDER. 
          UM, THE SALVATION ARMY SERVES BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, BUT SEPARATELY ARE THE SEPARATE PARTS OF THE SHELTER. 
          AND THE ARCH CURRENTLY ONLY SERVES MEN. 
          WE HAVE THE SALVATION ARMY WOMEN AND CHILDREN AND SHELTER, AND THEN WE HAVE, UM, WE, THEY ALSO HAVE A, UM, MORE OF A TRANSITIONAL HOUSING MODEL. 
          WHAT I WILL SAY IS THAT COVID HAS REALLY CHANGED THE LANDSCAPE IN TERMS OF SHELTER. 
          WE REALLY HAD TO DECREASE OUR CAPACITY, UH, TO ALLOW FOR SOCIAL DISTANCING. 
          UM, THAT WAS WHEN THE, THE CITY STARTED USING AS PART OF ITS COVID RESPONSE, UM, LEASED HOTELS TO PROVIDE SHELTER, NON CONGREGATE SHELTER, TO PEOPLE WHO WERE VERY, VERY VULNERABLE TO COVID BECAUSE OF UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITIONS. 
          AND SO THAT MEANT, YOU KNOW, FOLKS HAD A PRIVATE ROOM AND WHEN THEY DID THAT, THEY REALLY FOUND THAT A CERTAINLY ACCEPTANCE OF SHELTER INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. 
          UM, PEOPLE'S SENSE OF SAFETY IN SHELTER FOR OBVIOUS REASONS WAS ENHANCED, UH, WITH THE ABILITY TO CLOSE THEIR DOOR AND LOCK IT, AND ALSO THAT, UM, STABILITY AND SHELTER AND THE ABILITY TO MOVE THOSE FOLKS INTO PERMANENT HOUSING, UH, WAS ALSO ENHANCED. 
          SO I THINK AS A COMMUNITY WE'VE, YOU'RE REALLY LOOKING AT, UM, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT SHELTER EXPANSION IN THE FUTURE, UH, HOPING TO COMBINE THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS, UH, MAY NOT ALWAYS BE A HOTEL FACILITY. 
          UM, BUT YOU KNOW, THINKING ABOUT HOW CAN WE PROVIDE THAT MEASURE OF SAFETY AND SECURITY AND PRIVACY WITHIN A SHELTER SPACE, UH, THAT IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE, ARE, YOU KNOW, VULNERABLE TO VICTIMIZATION, UH, WHICH IS NOT ENTIRELY SOLVED FOR BY SEPARATING OCCUPANTS BY GENDER. 
          ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, ANYBODY ONLINE. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU DIANA, FOR JOINING US TONIGHT. 
          WE APPRECIATE IT. 
          UH, AND, UM, WE LOOK 
          [01:20:01]
FORWARD TO A FUTURE UPDATE. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          Y'ALL HAVE A GOOD EVENING. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, THE NEXT ITEM 
          [2c. Downtown Public Improvement District Authorization]
OF BUSINESS, THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION, I MEAN IS PLEASED TO HAVE THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE. 
          I WAS GONNA SAY THAT, UH, TO DISCUSS THE DOWNTOWN PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT AUTHORIZATION EXPANSION. 
          THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN COMMISSIONERS. 
          MY NAME IS DEWITT PEERED. 
          UH, I PREFER TO GO BY D A I'M THE CEO OF THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE. 
          JOINING ME IS BILL BRYCE, WHO IS A VICE-PRESIDENT OF INVESTOR RELATIONS. 
          BILL LED THE EFFORT FOR AUTHORIZATION OF THE PID RENEWAL. 
          SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT THIS EVENING. 
          UH, I ALSO WANT TO SHARE THE JOEL SHARE A BOARD MEMBER LED OUR TASK FORCE, OUR BOARD TASK FORCE. 
          HE WAS CO-CHAIR. 
          UM, SO, UH, JOEL MAY WANT TO COMMENT ALONG THE WAY THIS EVENING, TOO, SO HE WILL CERTAINLY WELCOME THAT. 
          UM, SO WE'RE HERE THIS EVENING TO TALK ABOUT, UH, THE PROCESS THAT WE'VE UNDERTAKEN TO RENEW THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT, UH, BILL AND I WILL SHARE THE PRESENTATION. 
          UM, I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE IS THE MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION THAT MANAGES THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT UNDER CONTRACT WITH THE CITY. 
          SO EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE GOING TO DESCRIBE TONIGHT IS REALLY DICTATED BY STATE STATUTE. 
          SO STATE STATUTE AND THE CITY'S, UH, PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT POLICY, AND WHAT WE'RE LEADING UP TO IS A JUNE 9TH PUBLIC HEARING. 
          SO THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT OFFICIALLY EXPIRES ON OCTOBER 22ND OF THIS YEAR, RIGHT? UM, WE ARE, UM, BEFORE CITY COUNCIL SEEKING APPROVAL OF RENEWING THE PID FOR ANOTHER 10 YEARS. 
          SO AN AUTHORIZATION. 
          SO WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THAT PROCESS TONIGHT. 
          WE'LL GET INTO THE, SORT OF THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF IT SO THAT YOU UNDERSTAND, AND THEN I WILL GIVE SORT OF A HIGHLIGHT OF THE TYPES OF SPECIAL BENEFITS THAT THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT PROVIDES FOR DOWNTOWN. 
          AGAIN, THE STATE STATUTE CALLS FOR SPECIAL BENEFITS THAT ARE DELIVERED TO A SPECIFIC DISTRICT. 
          SO BILL, IF YOU WANT TO START GREEDY, MR. CHAIR AND COMMISSIONERS, BILL BRYCE WITH DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE STAFF APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS YOU THIS EVENING. 
          UH, I WANTED TO PROVIDE FOR SOME BACKGROUND ON THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT AND THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE, AND AS D HAS JUST DESCRIBED THEY'RE TWO SEPARATE THINGS. 
          THE DISTRICT IS ACTUALLY WHAT RENEWS EVERY 10 YEARS. 
          SO THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT, O F IF YOU PLEASE EVENTS LIKE THIS, UH, SO WHAT YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN BEFORE YOU, THE RED BOUNDARY IS THE PROPOSED BOUNDARY FOR 20 30, 20 23 THROUGH 2032. 
          SO THE RED BOUNDARY IS THE OUT, UH, OUTSIDE BOUNDARY OF THE PROPOSED PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT. 
          FOR THE NEXT TERM. 
          THERE ARE PROPERTIES THAT ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN BLUE WITHIN THAT BOUNDARY, OR THAT ARE PROPERTIES THAT WE ARE F PROPOSED BEING ADDED TO THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT. 
          THEY ARE NOT CURRENTLY AT THIS TIME IN THE DISTRICT. 
          I WANT TO POINT OUT A COUPLE OF THINGS ABOUT THE BOUNDARY. 
          FIRST OF ALL, THE CURRENT PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT BOUNDARY THAT WE HAVE TODAY, NOT WHAT'S PROPOSED FOR THE NEXT 10 YEAR TERM. 
          THE NORTH EDGE OF THAT BOUNDARY IS MLK 19TH STREET. 
          UH, THE EASTERN DEPARTMENT OF THE EASTERN EDGE IS THE SAME, UH, THE WESTERN EDGE. 
          HOWEVER, CURRENTLY IS NOT AS CLEAR CUT AS WHAT YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN BEFORE YOU. 
          AND SO WE, UH, HAVE PROPOSED TO ADD SEVERAL PROPERTIES ON THE WESTERN EDGE TO PROVIDE A CLEANER SERVICE AREA, AND ALSO TO CREATE A LITTLE BIT MORE EVEN PLAYING FIELD WHERE SOME PROPERTIES WERE PAYING FOR SERVICES, OTHERS WERE NOT. 
          AND SO CLEANING UP THE WEST EDGE, UH, AND THEN IN THE RAINY STREET AREA, ADDING A FEW PROPERTIES THERE BECAUSE AS THE WATERLOO GREENWAY PROJECTS ARE COMPLETED, DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE IS PROVIDING OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE SERVICES FOR THOSE, AND TO HELP, UH, CARRY THE, THE WEIGHT OF THOSE EXPENSES. 
          WE PROPOSED ADDING THOSE PROPERTIES ADJACENT EASTERN WEST OF WALNUT CREEK IN THE RAINY AREA, BUT NOT THE ENTIRE RAINEY STREET DISTRICT SOUTH OF THE RIVER. 
          WE HAVE PROPOSED ADDING ABOUT A HALF A DOZEN PROPERTIES IN THAT DARK BLUE AREA, UH, THAT WERE NOT PART OF THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT ORIGINALLY, BUT THE DISTRICT HAS GROWN AROUND THEM. 
          AND SO 
          [01:25:01]
AGAIN, WE HAVE PROPERTIES THAT ARE RECEIVING SERVICES WITHOUT PAYING FOR THOSE SERVICES. 
          WE THINK THAT'S AN UNFAIR PLAYING FIELD OF THIS BOUNDARY IS WHAT THE PROPERTY OWNERS THAT WERE PETITIONED BEGINNING IN SEPTEMBER, ENDING IN THE END OF JANUARY, HAVE SUPPORTED BY THE PETITION. 
          SO THAT'S THE PROPOSED BOUNDARY. 
          THAT'S THE DISTRICT THAT RENEWS EVERY 10 YEARS AS D DESCRIBED THE DISTRICT EXP EXPIRES THIS OCTOBER. 
          WHAT COUNCIL WILL CONSIDER JUNE 9TH AS A RESOLUTION TO CONTINUE FOR ANOTHER 10 YEAR TERM, THAT'S CONTINUING THE DISTRICT. 
          SO WITHIN THAT DISTRICT, ALL INVESTMENT PROPERTIES, NON-HOMESTEAD COMMERCIAL OR INVESTMENT PROPERTIES PAY AN ASSESSMENT THAT FUNDS THE WORK OF THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE. 
          AND, UH, HOMESTEADS ARE EXEMPT, UH, CHURCHES, SCHOOLS NON-PROFIT OWNED AND OPERATED PROPERTIES ARE EXEMPT AS OUR PUBLIC PROPERTIES. 
          AND SO, UH, THE FUNDS THAT ARE GENERATED FROM THE ASSESSMENT FUND, THE WORK OF THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE, AND WE ARE DRIVEN BY A BOARD OF DIRECTORS GUIDED BY A BOARD OF DIRECTORS THAT MAKES THE DECISION ULTIMATELY ON HOW THOSE FUNDS ARE EXPENDED. 
          THAT HAPPENS IN SEVERAL WAYS THROUGH OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING, THROUGH OUR ANNUAL BUSINESS PLANS AND BUDGETING PROCESSES, BUT ALSO THROUGH OUR FIVE-YEAR CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE WITH THE CITY. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO NOW TO GET INTO A LITTLE BIT OF THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE, UH, THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE WAS ESTABLISHED WHEN THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT TOOK FORM. 
          SO WE'VE BEEN IN EXISTENCE AS WELL SINCE 1993 AS A 5 0 1 C4 NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION FUNDED BY THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT ASSESSMENT. 
          THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE VISION IS THE DOWNTOWN THAT YOU ALWAYS LOVE. 
          OUR MISSION IS TO CREATE, PRESERVE AND ENHANCE THE VALUE AND VITALITY OF DOWNTOWN. 
          BASICALLY WE ARE, WE EXIST TO MAKE DOWNTOWN A PLACE THAT PEOPLE WANT TO LIVE, WANT TO VISIT, WANT TO HAVE THEIR BUSINESS LOCATED, UH, AND, UH, WANT TO INVEST. 
          AND SO, UM, OVER THE LAST 30 YEARS NEARLY, SO, UH, WE'VE ALL SEEN SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN. 
          WE DON'T TAKE CREDIT FOR ALL OF THAT, BUT WE HAVE CERTAINLY HAD A HAND IN MUCH OF THE GROWTH IN DOWNTOWN AND THE SUCCESS THAT WE'VE SEEN IN OUR DOWNTOWN, UH, AS WELL, WE HAVE THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE FOUNDATION, WHICH IS A 5 0 1 C3 NON-PROFIT THAT WE'VE STOOD UP RECENTLY. 
          THE FOUNDATION THAT C3 HAS EXISTED FOR MANY YEARS, BUT WAS INACTIVE UNTIL ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO. 
          THE FOUNDATION IS THERE TO IGNITE THE POTENTIAL OF DOWNTOWN THROUGH ARTS AND CULTURE, UH, BY AND FOR EVERYONE. 
          AND, UH, THEY TAKE ON SUCH PROJECTS AS PUBLIC ACTIVATION. 
          WE HAVE A MURALS PROJECT THAT CREATED THE FABULOUS MURAL ON THE WEST FACING SIDE OF THE LINE, HOTEL AND MURALS IN OTHER PARTS OF DOWNTOWN THROUGH THE FOUNDATION WE MANAGE AND FULLY OPERATE AND PROGRAM REPUBLIC SQUARE PARK. 
          AND SO THAT IS THE NATURE OF THE WORK OF THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE AND THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE FOUNDATION MANAGING THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          EXCELLENT. 
          SO ONE OF OUR MOST VISIBLE, UH, SERVICE AREAS, OUR DIRECT SERVICES IS OUR DOWNTOWN AMBASSADORS PROGRAM. 
          UM, OUR AMBASSADORS CURRENTLY ARE OUR, WE HAVE A TEAM OF ABOUT 58 AMBASSADORS ON THE STREETS, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK FROM 6:00 AM TO 11:00 PM. 
          WE ALSO HAVE A TEAM THAT WASHES SIDEWALKS OVERNIGHT. 
          SO EFFECTIVELY. 
          WE HAVE RESOURCES ON THE STREET, 24 HOURS, A DAY, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, 365 DAYS A YEAR. 
          OUR SERVICES INCLUDE REMOVING LITTER, GRAFFITI HANDBILLS OTHER DEBRIS FROM SIDEWALKS, UM, PRESSURE WASHING SIDEWALKS, DOING MINOR LANDSCAPING. 
          UH, THE CONGRESS AVENUE PLANTERS ARE MAINTAINED BY OUR TEAM, BOTH IN TERMS OF KEEPING THEM PAINTED. 
          AND THEY LOOK SPECTACULAR RIGHT NOW WITH A NEW DESIGN THAT THEY'VE PAINTED, BUT ALSO KEEPING FRESH PLANTS IN THOSE YEAR ROUND MULCHING, OTHER FLOWER BEDS AROUND ABRAZO STREET IN PARTICULAR, UH, IN THE WAY OF LANDSCAPING, UH, THEY PAINT PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          SO THE POLES, THE BENCHES, THE TRASH CANS ARE ALL PAINTED AND MAINTAINED BY OUR TEAM. 
          EVEN THOUGH THAT'S PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          THE AMBASSADORS TEAM ALSO PROVIDES HOSPITALITY SERVICES AND PUBLIC ASSISTANCE TO PEOPLE TRYING TO FIND THEIR WAY AROUND TOWN, DOWNTOWN, WELCOMING VISITORS, ASSISTING LARGE GROUPS, MEETINGS, AND CONVENTIONS THAT COME TO TOWN BOTH BEFORE THEY GET TO AUSTIN TO HELP IN THE PLANNING TO ENSURE THAT DOWNTOWN IS READY TO ACCEPT THESE LARGE CONVENTIONS, BUT ALSO BEING PRESENT AND HELPING GROUPS NAVIGATE THROUGH DOWNTOWN WHILE THEY'RE HERE FOR THEIR MEETINGS AND CONVENTIONS. 
          ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT DIRECT SERVICE THAT WE PROVIDE IS FUNDING OVER TIME POLICE OFFICERS TO WORK WITHIN THE DOWNTOWN PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT, TWO OFFICERS A DAY, 10 HOURS A DAY, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, YEAR ROUND. 
          [01:30:01]
WE DO THIS BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT ONE, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS CURRENTLY AND HAS BEEN FOR FOR YEARS UNDERSTAFFED, BUT ALSO BASED ON THE WAY THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENTS POLICING DISTRICTS ARE FORMED, THAT DO NOT ALIGN EXACTLY WITH THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT. 
          OFTEN WE FOUND THAT THERE WOULD BE NO POLICE OFFICERS IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN THROUGHOUT MANY TIMES OF THE DAY, BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN CALLED OUT OF THE DISTRICT ON 9 1, 1 CALLS THAT EXIST IN, FOR EXAMPLE, THE DOWNTOWN AREA COMMAND, BUT NOT WITHIN THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT JURISDICTION. 
          SO BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH POLICE, WE HAVE PROVIDED THAT AS OVERTIME POLICE OFFICERS TWO A DAY, 10 HOURS A DAY, AGAIN ON THE STREET PREDOMINANTLY THEY ARE ON BIKES AND THEY ARE EXPECTED TO INTERACT WITH THE PUBLIC AND ALSO EXPECTED TO ADDRESS PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEEDS PEOPLE THAT MIGHT HAVE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH NEEDS. 
          PEOPLE WHO MAY BE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, TRYING TO HELP GUIDE THEM TOWARDS SERVICES, ASK THEM TO COMPLY VOLUNTARILY AS MS. GRAY IDENTIFIED ON THE LAST PRESENTATION. 
          AND SO, UH, THOSE ARE SOME OF OUR DIRECT SERVICES. 
          AND, UM, UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, SOME OF THE STATISTICS, UM, SO YOU CAN SEE ON THE SLIDE, UH, THROUGH THE COURSE OF 2021, WE HAD ALMOST 28,000 HOSPITALITY CONTACTS BY OUR AMBASSADORS, ANOTHER 1500 ALMOST BY OUR POLICE OFFICERS THAT WE PAY OVERTIME, UM, ALMOST 5 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF SIDEWALKS, PRESSURE WASHED ABOUT 130 TONS OF LITTER, TRASH AND DEBRIS REMOVED FROM THE STREETS ALONG WITH 12,000 GRAFFITI TAGS STICKERS. 
          AND HANDBILLS REMOVED TO HELP KEEP DOWNTOWN LOOKING AND FEELING CLEAN AND WELCOMING. 
          AND, UM, ALSO PART OF OUR FUNDING HAS INVOLVED FOR MANY YEARS, UH, SUPPORTING THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENTS, PUBLIC SAFETY CAMERA SYSTEM, KNOWN AS HALO. 
          THAT'S THE HIGH ACTIVITY LOCATION, OBSERVATION CAMERA SYSTEM THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, UH, PUT INTO PLACE IN 2011 WITH A QUARTER MILLION DOLLAR GRANT FROM DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE TO SUPPORT FEDERAL FUNDING THAT THEY GOT TO PUT THE CAMERA SYSTEM IN PLACE. 
          IT STARTED OUT WITH 28 CAMERAS. 
          WE NOW HAVE ABOUT 55 CAMERAS THROUGHOUT DOWNTOWN. 
          AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THE CAMERAS ARE SIGNIFICANT IN HELPING ONE TO IDENTIFY CRIMES THAT ARE TAKING PLACE, BUT ALSO TO HELP SOLVE CRIMES TO THE TUNE OF ABOUT 570 OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST YEAR. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO IN THE AREA OF HOMELESSNESS, BY THE WAY, UNDER MY INVESTOR RELATIONS ROLE, I'M ALSO THE, UH, THE ORGANIZATION'S POINT STAFF PERSON ON THE ISSUE OF HOMELESSNESS AND HAVE BEEN FOR ALMOST TWO DECADES. 
          AND SO OUR ROLE IN THE AREA OF HOMELESSNESS REALLY INVOLVES, UM, PROBABLY FOUR KEY AREAS. 
          WE ADVOCATE FOR IMPROVED POLICY AND PLANNING. 
          WE HELP TO EDUCATE THE COMMUNITY, BOTH OUR MEMBERSHIP AND THE BROADER COMMUNITY ABOUT THE ISSUE FACTUALLY, UH, WE ALSO DIRECTLY FUND PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS THAT WE BELIEVE HELPED TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM. 
          SO WE ARE A $2 MILLION OVER 10 YEAR PLEDGED CONTRIBUTOR TO COMMUNITY FIRST VILLAGE, FOR EXAMPLE, OR HALFWAY TO ACHIEVING THAT MILESTONE. 
          WE ARE, THIS IS OUR FIFTH YEAR MILLION DOLLARS IN, WE'D ALSO MADE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS CONTRIBUTION TO PHASE ONE AS THEY WERE JUST GETTING UP AND RUNNING. 
          BUT BECAUSE OF THE, THE, UH, THE DEMONSTRATION OF THEIR EFFECTIVENESS, WE MADE A SIGNIFICANT MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR, 10 YEAR COMMITMENT. 
          UM, WE ALSO ALLOCATED FUNDS TO THE TERRORISTS AT OAK SPRINGS, AUSTIN'S FIRST HOUSING FIRST PROJECT EVER, UH, TO THE CAPITAL CAMPAIGN IN THE FORM OF A CHALLENGE GRANT THAT RAISED A TOTAL OF 300,000. 
          UH, WE WERE THE CONVENING ORGANIZATION TO CREATE THE HOMELESSNESS OUTREACH STREET TEAM KNOWN AS HOST INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM BETWEEN AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, EMS INTEGRAL CARE AND COMMUNITY COURT TO TRY AND BE PROACTIVE TO PREVENT THE NINE 11 CALLS FROM BEING MADE, PREVENT THE CRISIS FROM OCCURRING, HELP BE A CONDUIT TO GET PEOPLE FROM THE STREET TO SERVICES, SHELTER, AND HOUSING. 
          AND SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO IN TERMS OF OUR DIRECT FUNDING FOR DIFFERENT HOMELESS PROGRAMS. AND NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          UH, THERE ARE SEVERAL KEY INITIATIVES THAT WE HAVE STARTED UP IN RECENT YEARS. 
          AND THE FIRST ONE ON THE LIST OF FAMILY REUNIFICATION IS, UH, A PARTNERSHIP THAT WE JUST CONCLUDED A PILOT WITH TRINITY CENTER THAT RAN FROM OCTOBER 1ST THROUGH THE END OF APRIL. 
          AND NOW WE'RE FUNDING THIS FOR OUR FULL BUDGET YEAR. 
          THAT STARTED MAY 1ST TRINITY CENTER HAD THIS PROGRAM IN PLACE. 
          UH, WE HELPED TO EMPHASIZE THE PROGRAM TO, TO RAMP IT UP BY PROVIDING FUNDING, BUT ALSO BY EXPANDING THE REFERRAL NETWORK. 
          SO BEFORE THIS, BEFORE OUR INVOLVEMENT WITH TRINITY CENTER, BASICALLY PEOPLE THAT WALKED IN THE DOOR AT THE TRINITY CENTER AT SEVENTH AND TRINITY STREET COULD, COULD ACCESS THE SERVICE IF THEY KNEW ABOUT IT. 
          UH, THE OTHER SOCIAL SERVICE CENTERS COULD REFER PEOPLE THERE. 
          UH, NOW THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS REFERRING PEOPLE. 
          THERE ARE AMBASSADORS ARE REFERRING PEOPLE THERE AND TAKING 
          [01:35:01]
PEOPLE THERE THAT KNOW THAT THE SERVICES OFFERED AND WANT TO TRY AND BE REUNIFIED WITH THEIR FAMILIES. 
          AND, UM, ALSO COMMUNITY COURT AND HOSTS ARE NOW CONNECTING PEOPLE WITH THE PROGRAM. 
          SO WE HAD 81 INDIVIDUALS REUNITED WITH THEIR FAMILY OFF THE STREETS OF DOWNTOWN AUSTIN AND REUNITED. 
          THAT MEANS THEY'RE DIVERTED FROM OUR SYSTEM, NOT CONSUMING RESOURCES THAT ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR OTHER PEOPLE THAT DESPERATELY NEED THEM. 
          AS MS. GRAY DESCRIBED THE SHORTAGE OF RESOURCES AND HOUSING IN OUR COMMUNITY. 
          THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT FACTOR. 
          UH, OVER THE COURSE OF THE PAST YEAR, WE PARTNERED WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN COMMUNITY COURT AND WITH INTEGRAL CARE TO STAND UP A NEW PROGRAM CALLED THE HOMELESSNESS HEALTH AND WELLNESS CENTER. 
          UH, THIS IS, UH, IS A PROGRAM THAT PROVIDES DIRECT ACCESS TO BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE, UH, HOUSING FOCUSED BEHAVIOR, HEALTH CARE FOR PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS DOWNTOWN, UH, IN THE FIRST YEAR 90 PEOPLE WERE ENROLLED, 37 ARE HOUSED AND THAT WELL EXCEEDS THE BATTING AVERAGE FOR PEOPLE BEING HOUSED THROUGH OTHER PROGRAMS. PEOPLE ALSO STAY ENROLLED IN THE PROGRAM LONGER THAN TYPICAL. 
          SO THE SIX MONTH RATE OF PEOPLE BEING ENGAGED IS OVER 87%. 
          THAT'S VERY HIGH, VERY SUCCESSFUL AND EMPHASIZES I THINK THE NEED FOR THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH FACTOR IN THIS EQUATION OF HOMELESSNESS. 
          AND JUST HOW IMPORTANT IT IS THAT IF WE'RE ABLE TO ADDRESS THAT, GET PEOPLE UNDER A ROOF AND STABILIZED, THEY'RE MORE LIKELY TO ACCEPT HOUSING, STAY ENGAGED IN SERVICES AND BE SUCCESSFUL IN ADDRESSING THEIR HOMELESSNESS. 
          I'VE ALREADY SPOKEN TO COMMUNITY FIRST VILLAGE, SO WE CAN MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          AND SO, UH, I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT, UH, DIANA WAS GOING TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU. 
          SO YOU'VE OBVIOUSLY JUST SEEN THIS, BUT I'LL SPEAK TO IT JUST A LITTLE BIT FURTHER. 
          UH, THE HOMELESSNESS COUNTS THAT WE DO, UH, SHE WAS ACCURATE IN SAYING THEY ARE NOT CONDUCTED IN THE SAME MANNER, THE MANNER THAT THE, UH, FORMALLY CONDUCTED, UH, ECHO AND IN COMMUNITY HOMELESSNESS, ANNUAL COUNTS REQUIRED BY HUD WERE CONDUCTED. 
          THEY, THOSE COUNTS WERE CURTAILED BECAUSE OF COVID FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS. 
          AND AN ECHO HAS UNDERTAKEN DIFFERENT MEASURES TO ESTIMATE CITYWIDE TRAVIS' COUNTY-WIDE HOMELESSNESS, BUT IN ORDER FOR US TO BE ABLE TO GAUGE MORE, MORE ACCURATELY, WHAT THE REALITY OF UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS IS DOWNTOWN. 
          WE STARTED TO IMPLEMENT MONTHLY COUNTS IN MAY. 
          WE CURTAILED THEM IN FEBRUARY AND MARCH BECAUSE OF THE SPRING FESTIVAL SEASON AND THE DRAW. 
          THIS HAS ON OUR AMBASSADOR RESOURCES. 
          SO WE'VE DONE 10 COUNTS FROM MAY THROUGH APRIL OF, OF 21 THROUGH 22. 
          AND AS IS ON THE SCREEN, YOU CAN SEE WE'VE SEEN A 48% DECLINE IN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE LIVING ON SHELTERED. 
          IT WAS LOWER, BUT IT WAS ALSO HIGHER. 
          THE NUMBER WAS 9 22 IN JULY. 
          IT WAS LOW AS 360 4 BACK IN OCTOBER, IT'S PERCOLATED UP A LITTLE BIT, BUT WE'VE MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS AS A COMMUNITY ADDRESSING UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS, MS. GRAY SPOKE TO THE HEAL INITIATIVE. 
          THAT'S A BIG PART OF THIS. 
          IF YOU CAN SEE THE DECLINE BEGINNING IN THAT SORT OF JULY, AUGUST TIMEFRAME, THAT'S WHEN THE CITY IMPLEMENTED THE HEAL INITIATIVE DOWNTOWN PHASE TWO FIRST WAS THIS LIBRARY PHASE TWO WAS ALONG SESAR CHAVEZ AROUND CITY HALL, DOWN TOWARD TOWN LAKE, NEARLY 150 PEOPLE WERE SHELTERED AND OR HOUSED FROM HEELS INITIATIVE DOWNTOWN IN AUGUST. 
          I WOULD ALSO SAY HOWEVER, THAT VERY FEW PEOPLE HAVE BEEN CITED FOR CAMPING AND PUBLIC DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY COURTS. 
          STATISTICS DO NOT SHOW THE 250 PLUS CITATIONS THAT MS. GRAY HAS CITED, UH, HAS IDENTIFIED, PARDON ME, UH, BEING ISSUED CITYWIDE. 
          AND THAT'S THE OTHER FACTOR IS NOW CAMPING IS BEING ENFORCED CITYWIDE, NOT JUST DOWNTOWN. 
          SO WHAT SHOWS UP IN COMMUNITY COURT IS A LOT LESS PART OF THAT IS BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN MOVED INTO SHELTER. 
          PART OF THAT IS BECAUSE OFFICERS FIRST ASKED FOR COMPLIANCE, BUT THE OTHER SIGNIFICANT FACTOR, THE LINE ON THE SCREEN, THE BLUE LINE IS THE REDUCTION IN THE NUMBER OF TENTS AND STRUCTURES THAT PEOPLE ARE LIVING IN DOWNTOWN. 
          UH, REDUCING FROM 2 79 BACK IN MADE ONLY 37, UH, IN APRIL. 
          AND SO WE BELIEVE, UH, THAT'S VERY SIGNIFICANT AND VERY SIGNIFICANT IN TERMS OF PROGRESS. 
          AND I WILL TELL YOU THAT NOT ONLY PEOPLE WHO LIVE AND WORK DOWNTOWN MOST, ESPECIALLY PEOPLE WHO VISIT DOWNTOWN AUSTIN, THAT IS A HUGE FACTOR. 
          WE HAVE HAD MEETINGS AND CONVENTIONS SAY WE ARE NOT COMING TO AUSTIN BECAUSE THEY CAME HERE WHEN OUR STREETS WERE COVERED UP, COVERED UP WITH PEOPLE LIVING ON THEM. 
          SO THIS PROGRESS IS REALLY IMPORTANT. 
          WE HAVE TO ENSURE THAT THE TAX BASE THAT FUNDS THE SERVICES AND HOUSING THAT WE NEED, A LOT OF THAT COMES FROM DOWNTOWN. 
          WE CAN NOT ERODE THAT TAX BASE. 
          WE KNOW THAT THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT ISSUE FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE INVESTING DOWNTOWN TO LIVE HERE, TO DEVELOP HERE, TO MOVE THEIR BUSINESSES HERE, AND FOR PEOPLE THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO COME AND BRING THEIR MEETINGS AND CONVENTIONS HERE AS WELL. 
          GOOD. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO I'M GOING TO GO INTO SOME OF THE OTHER WORK THAT WE DO. 
          UM, ONE FOCUS AREA IS ACCESS AND MOBILITY DOWNTOWN. 
          SO, UM, PROJECTS LIKE PROJECT CONNECT. 
          SO 
          [01:40:01]
WE WERE, UH, ADVOCATES FOR, UH, THE PASSAGE OF THE, UH, TAX RATE ELECTION, UM, TO SUPPORT, UM, TRANSIT, UM, HAVE BEEN, THE ORGANIZATION HAS BEEN FOR, UM, FOR MANY YEARS, A SUPPORTER OF, UH, IMPROVING TRANSIT. 
          UM, AS YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A TUNNEL DOWNTOWN AT SUBWAY. 
          SO WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON SORT OF THE PLANNING ASPECTS OF THAT. 
          SO WHAT DOES THE PUBLIC REALM LOOK LIKE AROUND THOSE TRANSIT STATIONS? I, 35, WE ADVOCATED FOR THE FULL FUNDING OF THE IMPROVEMENTS OF THE CENTRAL PORTION OF  LOWERING THE INTERSTATE. 
          NOW WE'RE WORKING ON, UH, ALONG WITH THE CITY TECH, STOTT AND OTHER PARTNERS, UH, CAPPING AND STITCHING  SO CREATING, UH, A, UH, EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY AROUND THE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE INTERSTATE. 
          SO RECONNECTING DOWNTOWN WITH EAST AUSTIN AND THEN, UM, DISTRICT PLANNING IN PROJECTS LIKE THE CONGRESS AVENUE, URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVE, PARTNERING WITH THE CITY TO CARRY THAT OUT. 
          WE'RE WORKING ON THE PALM DISTRICT PLAN, THE INNOVATION DISTRICT, UH, SUPPORTING THE EXPANSION OF THE CONVENTION CENTER AND THE PLANNING AROUND THE CONVENTION CENTER. 
          SO MAKING IT ACTIVE, UM, IF IT IS, UH, TO BE EXPANDED, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO ADVOCACY AND EDUCATION. 
          SO, UH, EDUCATING THE COMMUNITY BROADLY AND ADVOCATING FOR, UH, INITIATIVES, UH, AROUND HOMELESSNESS AS BILL TALKED ABOUT AROUND, UH, TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY. 
          UM, THE, UM, THE CAMPING BAN THAT THE STATE PASSED, UH, IN THE LAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION, UH, WE WORK TO IMPROVE THAT LEGISLATION. 
          SO IT WAS OUR TEAM THAT WAS WORKING WITH THE STATE LEGISLATURE AND ELECTED OFFICIALS TO IMPROVE THAT BILL. 
          UM, AND ALSO, UM, LOOKING AT THE DEVELOPMENT THAT'S OCCURRING DOWNTOWN AND THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE. 
          UH, WE HAVE TASK FORCES THAT WORK ON, UH, IMPROVING THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, UH, AND TO A LARGE EXTENT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE A VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION. 
          WE HAVE A LOT OF BUILDING OWNERS, INVESTORS, UH, ARCHITECTS, PLANNERS, WHO DEDICATE THEIR TIME TO REALLY WORKING ON THESE ADVOCACY EFFORTS. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO, UM, I MENTIONED A FEW OF THE, UM, ADVOCACY PROJECTS. 
          UM, A PARTICULAR AREA OF FOCUS FOR US IS THE EASTERN SIDE OF DOWNTOWN. 
          WE CALL IT THE PALM DISTRICT, IT BLENDS INTO THE INNOVATION DISTRICT. 
          UM, AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE AMOUNT OF INVESTMENT THAT'S HAPPENING BETWEEN THE INTERSTATE, UH, PROJECT CONNECT, WATERLOO, GREENWAY, THE AMOUNT OF DEVELOPMENT THAT'S HAPPENING, UH, WE ARE BIG ADVOCATES FOR PLANNING WHAT THAT DEVELOPMENT LOOKS LIKE. 
          WE'RE ALSO BEGINNING TO LOOK AT THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT, UH, THE REGULATORY PLAN WE'RE SUPPORTING, UH, THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT PLAN. 
          SO THESE DISTRICT PLANS DISTRICTS WITHIN THE DOWNTOWN ARE CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TO THE FUTURE OF DOWNTOWN. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          UM, SO GREEN SPACE, PUBLIC SPACE, UM, VERY IMPORTANT, UH, PARTICULARLY WITH THE NUMBER OF RESIDENTS WE SEE MOVING DOWNTOWN, RIGHT? SO THESE AREAS OF RESPITE, IF YOU WILL, AND RECREATE RECREATION AND, YOU KNOW, HAVING WORKED THROUGH THE PANDEMIC, WE LEARNED THAT OUT THE OUTSIDE ENVIRONMENT IS SO IMPORTANT. 
          AND SO IT, THE PARK REPUBLIC SQUARE IS AN EXAMPLE OF A PROJECT THAT WE'VE UNTAKEN UNDERTAKEN THROUGH THE FOUNDATION. 
          NOT ONLY HELPING RAISE THE MONEY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE AUSTIN PARKS FOUNDATION AND THE CITY PARKS DEPARTMENT, BUT MANAGING IT, PROGRAMMING IT, ACTIVATING IT, RIGHT. 
          UM, THE CAPITOL IS ONE PART OF IT, BUT TO MANAGE A PARK IS VERY EXPENSIVE. 
          SO CREATING A FOUNDATION TO UNDERTAKE THIS WORK AS PART OF IT, UH, THE WATERLOO GREENWAY AND WATERLOO PARK. 
          SO WE PROVIDE AMBASSADOR SERVICES TO WATERLOO GREENWAY, AND AS THAT PARK CONTINUES TO EXPAND, OUR AMBASSADOR SERVICES WILL CONTINUE. 
          SO THE WORK THAT WE DO ON THE STREETS, IF YOU WILL, IN THE PUBLIC REALM, WE'RE ALSO BEGINNING TO DO IN PARKS AND GREEN SPACE. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO PUBLIC SPACES ARE CRITICALLY IMPORTANT. 
          [01:45:01]
UH, THEY'LL MENTION MURALS. 
          WE HAVE A VERY ROBUST MURAL PROGRAM THAT WE'VE UNDERTAKEN. 
          UM, WE'RE BEGINNING A NEW MUSIC PROGRAM DOWNTOWN. 
          SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE MUSICIANS MOVING AROUND DOWNTOWN, OUTSIDE, AGAIN, FREE TO THE PUBLIC. 
          SO MANY OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO IN TERMS OF ACTIVATING OUR ACTIVITIES THAT ANYONE CAN ENJOY WITH REALLY NO COST ASSOCIATED WITH THEM. 
          UM, SO THE, ALL OF THESE PROJECTS, WE'RE STARTING AT THESE CONSTRUCTION SITES, WHAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED ARE, YOU KNOW, THE CONSTRUCTION BARRIERS ARE, UM, VERY DISRUPTIVE. 
          WE'VE BEGUN A PROGRAM TO PROVIDE MURALS ON THE CONSTRUCTION BARRIERS AROUND CONSTRUCTION SITES. 
          SO ALL OF THIS REALLY, YOU KNOW, CREATES A WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT THAT WE CONTINUE TO WANT TO IMPROVE UPON. 
          SO, UH, DOWNTOWN IS CERTAINLY THE CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC CULT YEAH. 
          EPICENTER, UH, FOR THE CITY. 
          RIGHT. 
          SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT AUSTIN, THE BRAND OF AUSTIN, PEOPLE THINK ABOUT DOWNTOWN, UM, WE'RE, YOU'RE REALLY ADVOCATING FOR, UM, THE GROWTH OF DOWNTOWN, BUT IT IS REALLY AN 18 HOUR CITY, RIGHT? SO WE'RE SEEING GROWTH ACROSS ALL PRODUCT TYPES. 
          SO WE DO HAVE OFFICE GROWTH, BUT THE TOURISM AND HOTELS ARE GROWING AND RESIDENTS ARE GROWING AS WELL. 
          SO FOR US, IT IS AN 18 HOUR CITY. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          AND THEN COMMUNICATION. 
          SO PROMOTING DOWNTOWN, EDUCATING, NOT ONLY OUR MEMBERS, OUR INVESTORS, SO THE RATE PAYERS, THE ASSESSMENT PAYERS, WE HAVE OVER 900 PROPERTY OWNERS THAT ARE PAYING ASSESSMENTS, UM, KEEPING THEM INFORMED OF WHAT'S HAPPENING, LISTENING TO THEM. 
          SO MARKETING IS BOTH SELLING AND PROMOTING, BUT ALSO LISTENING. 
          SO WE'RE LISTENING TO THE OWNERS, UNDERSTANDING WHAT THEY BELIEVE IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE NEEDED DOWNTOWN. 
          OBVIOUSLY, MUCH OF THE WORK THAT WE DO IS AROUND THE PUBLIC SPACE. 
          SO DEVELOPERS ARE BUILDING THE VERTICAL SPACE, WE'RE WORKING ON THE HORIZONTAL SPACE, WHICH IS, UM, UM, VERY CRITICAL IN TERMS OF KEEPING A CITY VIBRANT AND, UH, EXTREMELY VALUABLE. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO JUST A LITTLE INSIGHT OF WHAT'S HAPPENED. 
          SO 2010, THE VALUE OF DOWNTOWN WAS $3.1 MILLION. 
          UH, WE'RE PROJECTING BY 2030, THE VALUE OF THE B $24 BILLION. 
          SO AS PART OF OUR SERVICE PLAN TO THE CITY, THIS REAUTHORIZATION, WE HAVE TO ESTIMATE, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN DOWNTOWN OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS. 
          SO THIS IS PART OF THE PLAN, RIGHT? SO WE HAVE TO PLAN FOR GROWTH AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT, THE BUILDINGS WE NEED TO HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE ALIGN WITH THE BUILDINGS. 
          SO PART OF WHAT WE DO DAY IN AND DAY OUT, AND THE DISCUSSIONS WE HAVE ARE, ARE WE PUTTING THE RIGHT INVESTMENTS IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO MEET THE GROWTH THAT'S BEING ANTICIPATED? UM, SO WE ARE BIG ADVOCATES FOR THAT. 
          WE HAVE A MARKET RESEARCH STAFF THAT FOCUSES ON UNDERSTANDING THE DATA. 
          WE TRACK A LOT OF DATA. 
          IF YOU HAVEN'T VISITED OUR WEB WEBSITE, I WOULD COURAGE YOU. 
          YES, PLEASE. 
          I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO VISIT THE WEBSITE AND LOOK AT OUR MARKET RESEARCH INFORMATION. 
          AND JUST AS A REMINDER, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE DISTRICT, THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT, 50% OF THE LAND AREA IS PUBLIC SPACE, RIGHT? AND SO MANAGING THAT PUBLIC SPACE, KEEPING IT CLEAN, SAFE. 
          IT IS YOU, IF YOU SPEND TIME DOWNTOWN, YOU KNOW, YOU'LL RECOGNIZE WHEN YOU'RE IN THE DISTRICT AND WHEN YOU'RE NOT IN THE DISTRICT, RIGHT? IF YOU CROSS OUTSIDE THE DISTRICT, YOU WILL SEE TAGS ON BUILDINGS, YOU WILL SEE LITTER, GARBAGE CANS OVERFLOWING INSIDE THE DISTRICT. 
          YOU KNOW, WE TAKE PRIDE IN THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING IN OUR PROJECTIONS, WHAT WE KNOW VERY CONSERVATIVELY. 
          I MEAN, WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE 28 BUILDINGS UNDER CONSTRUCTION. 
          CURRENTLY 
          [01:50:02]
WE'RE PROJECTING THROUGH WHAT WE CAN SEE IN THE PIPELINE. 
          ANOTHER 35 BUILDINGS BEING BUILT IN WITHIN THE NEXT 10 YEARS. 
          UM, ARGUABLY DOWNTOWN WILL DOUBLE IN SIZE IN 10 YEARS. 
          SO PREPARING FOR THAT GROWTH, THERE'S REALLY IMPORTANT. 
          OKAY. 
          JUST TO QUICK LOOK AT THE BUDGET. 
          SO THE FIRST YEAR OF OUR OPERATING BUDGET AND THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN, WE ARE ESTIMATING ABOUT 16 AND A HALF BILLION DOLLARS IN ASSESSMENTS. 
          UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE BREAKDOWN, ALL OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT WE TALKED ABOUT PREVIOUSLY, UH, THIS IS A BREAKDOWN OF WHERE THOSE EXPENDITURES GO. 
          SO OVER HALF OF THE EXPENDITURES GO TO SAFETY, HOSPITALITY, AND PUBLIC SPACE ACTIVATION MAKING DOWNTOWN WELCOMING. 
          UM, YOU CAN SEE THE OTHER AREAS WHERE WE'RE DOING ADVOCACY AND RESEARCH AND MARKET ANALYSIS. 
          AND I JUST WANT TO REMIND THE COMMISSION THAT AT ANY POINT IN TIME, I KNOW WE'VE PRESENTED A NUMBER OF TIMES, BUT IF YOU WANT ANY INFORMATION ON DATA, PLEASE ASK US. 
          WE'RE CERTAINLY WELCOME TO COME AND EXPLAIN ANY OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, OR THE TRENDS THAT WE'RE SEEING. 
          AND WE PRIDE OURSELVES ON THE INFORMATION THAT WE COLLECT, BECAUSE IT HELPS INFORM US NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          WE WANTED TO SHARE, UH, THIS SLIDE BECAUSE, UM, IT, IT SHOWS, IT TALKS ABOUT THE ASSESSMENT RATE. 
          UM, THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PID WAS ONE OF THE LAST OF ANY MAJOR CITIES IN TEXAS. 
          SO WE WERE, WE WERE KIND OF LAST, UH, CREATED AMONG HOUSTON, DALLAS, SAN ANTONIO, ET CETERA, FORT WORTH. 
          UM, HOWEVER, OUR ASSESSMENT RATE AS IT CURRENTLY IS, AND LET ME START WITH THIS, WHAT WE PETITIONED THE PROPERTY OWNERS TO SUPPORT AND WHAT THEY DID SUPPORT WAS A RATE NOT TO EXCEED 10 CENTS OR $100 OF PROPERTY VALUE AS DETERMINED BY THE TRAVIS COUNTY APPRAISAL DISTRICT, 10 CENTS PER A HUNDRED. 
          UM, THAT RATE IS LOWER THAN ALL OF OUR MAJOR CITY IN STATE COUNTERPARTS. 
          AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE SCREEN THERE, I TOUCHED EARLIER ON THE EXEMPTIONS. 
          I DON'T RECALL IF I MENTIONED THAT THE FIRST HALF A MILLION IN PROPERTY VALUE IS EXEMPT, UH, BUT I'D ALSO REFER IT ON THE LAST SLIDE THAT THEY SHOWED AND THE ESTIMATED 16 MILLION, UM, THAT WOULD BE BASED ON THE 10 CENT PER HUNDRED ANNUALLY, OUR BOARD AND STAFF UNDERTAKE AN ARDUOUS BUSINESS PLANNING AND BUDGETING PROCESS, UH, THAT, UH, IS BASED ON A SERVICE PLAN PROVIDED TO THE CITY AND MUST BE APPROVED BY OUR BOARD AND THE NOT TO EXCEED 10 CENT RATE HAS BEEN IN PLACE EVER SINCE THE INCEPTION IN 1993. 
          SO ANY GIVEN YEAR THE BOARD CAN REQUEST OR RECOMMEND LOWERING THAT RATE, WHICH CAN BE APPROVED BY CITY COUNCIL. 
          UM, I WOULD SAY THAT OVER THE LAST FIVE ALMOST FIVE-YEAR PERIOD, WE'RE IN THE LAST YEAR OF OUR CURRENT FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN, UH, THE BOARD SET FORTH, VERY AGGRESSIVE GOALS FOR THE ORGANIZATION AND FOR DOWNTOWN. 
          AND SO, UM, ANNUALLY, I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT WHEN WE'RE DOING OUR BUSINESS PLANNING AND BUDGETING, UH, WE EXCEED, UH, W WHAT WE DESIRE TO SPEND, AND WE'RE HAVING TO PAIR BACK TO BE WITHIN THAT 10 CENT PARAMETER. 
          SO OUR PROCESSES ARE ALL AGAIN, UH, GUIDED AND APPROVED BY OUR BOARD. 
          OUR BOARD IS INTIMATELY INVOLVED ON COMMITTEES, UH, IN THE WORK OF OUR ORGANIZATION, UH, THAT LEAD TO THE DEVELOPMENT, OUR BUSINESS PLANS AND BUDGETS. 
          AND SO WE VERY PRUDENT ABOUT THAT. 
          VERY FORTHCOMING IN TERMS OF AUDITS AND, UM, UH, WITH OUR FINANCIAL INFORMATION. 
          BUT, UM, WHAT YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN DEMONSTRATES THAT ONE WE'RE LOWER THAN ANY OTHER PITT ASSESSMENT RATE IN WHAT THE EXEMPTIONS ARE. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          YEP. 
          GOOD. 
          GO TO SLIDES. 
          OH, OKAY. 
          SO THIS IS THE LAST SLIDE. 
          UM, AND NEXT SLIDE. 
          GREAT. 
          UM, SO THIS WILL GIVE YOU INSIGHT INTO WHAT THE NEXT 10 YEARS LOOKS LIKE. 
          I THINK IN MANY RESPECTS, THIS LIST SHOULD BE SOMETHING THAT THIS COMMISSION KEEPS THEIR EYES ON, BECAUSE IT WILL, UM, REALLY DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, THE FUTURE OF DOWNTOWN. 
          OBVIOUSLY HOMELESSNESS IS A BIG CHALLENGE. 
          I THINK YOU HEARD EARLIER FROM DIANA GRAY PROGRESS IS BEING MADE. 
          WE FEEL THAT MOMENTUM IS STARTING TO BUILD, IT'S TAKEN AWHILE, BUT, YOU KNOW, THINGS FEEL LIKE THEY'RE BEGINNING TO GO IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. 
          UM, WE SEE THE COMMUNITY COMING AROUND THOSE INITIATIVES, AND I THINK THE PRIVATE SECTOR IS BEGINNING TO STEP UP AND PLAY A ROLE, 
          [01:55:01]
THE AUSTIN CORE TRANSPORTATION PLAN, RIGHT? SO THIS IS THE DOWNTOWN STREET GRID. 
          SO IF YOU LOOK AT DOWNTOWN, THERE ARE ESSENTIALLY 20 STREETS GOING NORTH AND SOUTH 20 STREETS GOING EAST AND WEST. 
          HOW THAT GRID FUNCTIONS IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, OUR MEMBERS HAVE FOCUSED ON, UH, ADVOCATED FOR YEARS, ABOUT HOW COULD WE MAKE THE GRID FUNCTION BETTER? SO THE CITY RIGHT NOW, AND WE'RE PARTNERING WITH THE CITY IS TO COME UP WITH THIS TRANSPORTATION PLAN. 
          BY THE END OF THE YEAR, IMPLEMENTING IT IS GOING TO TAKE MULTIPLE YEARS. 
          UM, THIS WILL BE SOMETHING THAT WILL NEED TO BE ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL. 
          AND I'M HAPPY TO COME TO THE COMMISSION AND TALK ABOUT THAT CONSTRUCTION MITIGATION. 
          SO THESE MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS LET THE BUILDINGS TO THE SIDE, A SUBWAY, I 35, YOU KNOW, IMPROVEMENTS TO THE BRIDGES. 
          IT'S GOING TO CREATE A LOT OF CONGESTION CONSTRUCTION DOWNTOWN. 
          SO BEGINNING TO PLAN FOR THAT MITIGATION NOW IS, UH, SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WORKING ON AND WORKING WITH PARTNERS LIKE THE CITY TXDOT CAMPO TO BRING THE TEAM TOGETHER, PROJECT CONNECT PALM DISTRICT, SO IMPORTANT TO BE PLANNING DISTRICTS. 
          UM, I, 35, WE TALKED ABOUT THE SOUTH CENTRAL WATERFRONT AND A REGULATORY PLAN FOR THAT DISTRICT, UM, PLAN DISTRICTS FOR WHAT THE OUTCOMES ARE THAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS TO SEE, UH, EAST SIXTH STREET, WE'RE BEGINNING THE FOCUS ON IMPROVING, UM, THE INFRASTRUCTURE ON EAST SIXTH STREET, LIGHTING THE STREETS, THE SIDEWALKS DEVELOPMENT SAFETY IS CONTINUALLY A BIG CONCERN, AND YOU SEE THE INVESTMENT THAT WE'RE MAKING AND THE CLEAN AND SAFE PROGRAM. 
          SO THESE ARE THE PRIORITIES. 
          THIS IS WHAT AS A BOARD, WE TALK ABOUT DAY IN, DAY OUT. 
          THESE ARE WHAT WE BELIEVE IF WE'RE SUCCESSFUL, BRINGS THAT SPECIAL BENEFIT TO THE DISTRICT, TO THE DOWNTOWN. 
          SO THANK YOU. 
          BE WILLING TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. 
          UM, FIRST OF ALL, AND, UH, JOEL, I KNOW THAT YOU MAY HAVE SOME COMMENTS. 
          UM, SO Y'ALL ARE GOING TO COUNSEL WITH AN UNEXPANDED DISTRICT, UH, UH, SOMEWHAT MODIFIED DISTRICT. 
          UM, AND THEN THE BUILDINGS THAT WERE SHADED IN BLUE ARE GOING TO BE ADDED. 
          YES. 
          SO HOW MUCH, SINCE WE DIDN'T HAVE A MAP OF WHAT THE DISTRICT LOOKS LIKE MAPPING NOW, WHAT IS BEING ADDED IN THE 23 VERSION? SO IF WE COULD BRING UP THAT ORIGINAL MAP. 
          SO THE, THE, UM, THE MATERIAL DIFFERENCE REALLY IS JUST DRAWING DOWN THE NORTHERN BOUNDARY, RIGHT? SO WE WERE TAKING IT FROM WHAT WAS MARTIN LUTHER KING BOULEVARD DOWN TO 15TH STREET. 
          UH, IT WOULD BE LIKE THE SECOND SLIDE. 
          UM, SO, AND THEN YOU CAN SEE THE BLUE. 
          YEAH. 
          THE BLUE ARE THE ADDED PARCELS. 
          SO THE ADDITIONS ARE NOT MATERIAL. 
          WE DIDN'T REALLY EXPAND THE BOUNDARIES. 
          WE DREW DOWN TO 15TH STREET. 
          AND THE PROCESS THAT WE WENT THROUGH, THE REASON FOR THAT WAS THOSE BOUNDARIES NORTH OF 15TH ARE MAINLY STATE PROPERTY AND UT PROPERTY. 
          SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT PAYING ASSESSMENTS TO BE RECIPIENTS OF THE SERVICES. 
          SO THAT WAS THE RATIONALE. 
          AND I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE MAY BE SOME SOMETHING OF A NEGOTIATION, BUT HOW COME THE RAINY STREET NEIGHBORHOOD IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE, UM, SO PART OF THAT IS, UM, THE PROPERTY OWNERS WOULD NEED TO PETITION. 
          AND THE WAY THE PITFALL, THE CITY'S PID POLICY IS THOSE PROPERTY OWNERS CAN PETITION TO JOIN THE DISTRICT. 
          SO WE DECIDED THAT IF THEY WANT TO JOIN, YOU KNOW, WE WILL DO THAT AT A LATER DATE. 
          SO ANY PROPERTY, THIS CONTIGUOUS HAS THE OPTION TO JOIN IN TO THE DISTRICT, BUT YOU CAN, BUT SO THE DYNAMIC OF RAINY STREET, RIGHT, HOMESTEADS ARE EXCLUDED. 
          SO PART OF THE COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS FOR US MANAGING THE DISTRICT IS, YOU KNOW, HOMESTEADS BEING EXCLUDED. 
          [02:00:02]
THEY'RE NOT PAYING THE ASSESSMENT. 
          SO THEREFORE, YOU KNOW, FOR US TO COVER THE COST OF PROVIDING THE SERVICES, IT'S A DRAIN ON, YOU KNOW, THOSE OTHER TAX RATE PAYERS WOULD THE COMP, BUT THE COMMON AREA, I GUESS THAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED A PERCENTAGE OF THE HOMESTEAD, BUT YEAH, WELL, SO YEAH, THE, THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE COVER THE COMMON AREA. 
          RIGHT. 
          AND SO THE COST TO PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES RIGHT. 
          HAVE TO BE PAID BY THE PROPERTY OWNERS. 
          RIGHT. 
          RIGHT. 
          AND IF WE'RE NOT GETTING ANY ASSESSMENT COLLECTION, RIGHT. 
          IT FINANCIALLY, YOU KNOW, IT SORTA PUTS YOU UNDER WATER. 
          YEAH. 
          I WAS JUST RUNNING NUMBERS ON UNITS THROUGH MY HEAD, BUT YEAH, POLICE JR. 
          MICHAEL, UH, OH, I'M THE SAME QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BOUNDARY? UH, WHAT IS THE WEST STREET, UM, OF THE BOUNDARY? THAT'S AN RIDE BETWEEN FIFTH AND 15TH. 
          SAN ANTONIO. 
          OKAY. 
          SO IS THAT THE DK G HOUSES THAT, UM, 12TH AND SAN ANTONIO, THE NEW 3 75, BUT TOWER IS THAT INCLUDED, UH, ON 12TH STREET? YEAH. 
          YEAH. 
          YES IT IS. 
          YES IT IS. 
          YEP. 
          THE STRATEGY, THE STRATEGY PROJECT, YES. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT WOULD BE THE ONE IN BLUE. 
          OKAY. 
          I THOUGHT IT WAS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE INTERSECTION. 
          UM, OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YEAH. 
          SO IF YOU COULD IMAGINE THE PREVIOUS BOUNDARY, IF YOU TAKE OUT THOSE BLUE BLOCKS ALONG THE WESTERN EDGE, IT WAS JAGGED. 
          RIGHT. 
          AND SO WE'RE WHEN WE'RE PROVIDING SERVICES TO SORT OF HAVE THAT SEAMLESS FOR THE TEAMS TO BE WORKING THAT AREA. 
          RIGHT. 
          IT JUST CLEANS UP THE EDGE. 
          RIGHT. 
          SO IT'S CONSISTENT. 
          THANK YOU BOTH FOR BEING HERE. 
          UM, HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN DISCUSSIONS WITH THE CITY TO RELOCATE THE ARCH? I THINK IF, IF THAT WAS NOT DOWNTOWN, I THINK OUR CRIME WOULD PROBABLY BE A LOT LOWER. 
          YEAH. 
          SO YOU, YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO THAT? I'LL ADMIT THAT SIR. 
          I HAVE COMMENTS TO HERE. 
          UM, SO W WE'VE NEVER HAD ANY FORMAL DISCUSSION WITH THE CITY ON THAT SUBJECT? UM, I CAN TELL YOU THAT OVER ALMOST TWO DECADES, I HAVE HAD HUNDREDS OF SUGGESTIONS AND INQUIRIES FROM OTHERS. 
          HOWEVER, ABOUT DOING THAT. 
          UM, THE FACT IS AS, AS YOU KNOW, THE CITY OWNS THE PROPERTY, BUT IT'S MANAGED PRIVATELY BY A NONPROFIT CALLED FRONT STEPS AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN SINCE IT WAS OPENED IN APRIL OF 2004. 
          UM, THERE ARE A LOT OF FOLKS THAT WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT MOVE. 
          THE QUESTION IS WHERE DOES IT GET MOVED TO? UM, I THINK THE MAIN QUESTION TODAY THOUGH IS ALSO AN AND, UH, DIANA GRACE BOOK SOMEWHAT TO THIS EARLIER. 
          UM, WE KNOW THAT CONGREGATE SHELTER IS NOT DESIRABLE FOR PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS. 
          UM, MANY PEOPLE JUST WILL NOT GO TO THAT TYPE OF A FACILITY. 
          UH, WE'VE ASKED FOR INFORMATION FROM HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES CURRENTLY ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE OF THE FACILITY AND THE CONTRACTOR AGAINST THE METRICS FOR MANAGING THAT FACILITY DURING COVID. 
          THEY RE REDUCED THEIR CAPACITY FROM 1 35, WHICH WAS REDUCED ONLY IN 2018, FROM AS MANY AS TWO 20 A NIGHT WITH ONLY A HUNDRED BEDS BUILT INTO THE FACILITY. 
          SO THAT INCLUDED PEOPLE SLEEPING ON MATS IN EVERY NOOK AND CRANNY CONFERENCE ROOM, LUNCH ROOM OFFICE, YOU NAME IT THAT WAS REDUCED TO 1 35 DURING COVID. 
          IT WAS REDUCED TO 60. 
          THEY'RE STILL OPERATING AT ABOUT THAT LEVEL SALVATION ARMY. 
          THEY RE THEY COMPLETELY CLEARED OUT THEIR SHELTER BECAUSE OF COVID AND THEN REPOPULATED IT, BUT ONLY TO 50%. 
          UM, SO WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE OTHER SHELTER MODELS THAT ARE TAKING FORM RIGHT NOW, ESPERANZA COMMUNITY BEING ONE OF THEM THAT INVOLVES A NON CONGREGATE SHELTER MODEL, THE CITY HOTEL MOTELS, ALSO AS MS. GRAY SPOKE TO, UH, ALSO OUR NON CONGREGATE MODEL OF SHELTER THAT IS MORE APPEALING TO MANY PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AND FRANKLY, MORE EFFECTIVE IN MANY WAYS TO. 
          SO I DO THINK IT GETS TO THE POINT THAT, AND THIS IS THE GROUP THAT CODE LAST AND IS WORKING ON THIS FINDING HOME ATX THERE ARE INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS THAT WE'RE BEGINNING TO LOOK AT ACROSS THE BOARD. 
          WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE HOMELESS DELIVERY SYSTEM, YOU KNOW, IT IS A CONTINUUM. 
          AND SO I THINK IT'S INCUMBENT UPON THE COMMUNITY, BOTH THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND THE SERVICE PROVIDERS TO THINK ABOUT WHAT ARE THE MOST INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO HELPING SOLVE FOR HOMELESSNESS. 
          RIGHT. 
          AND SO WHAT YOU'VE ASKED IS SORT OF ONE 
          [02:05:01]
PIECE OF THAT WE KNOW CONGREGATE SHELTERS ARE NOT THE BEST SOLUTION, NOT DOWNTOWN, BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT EVERY DOWNTOWN HAS A PORTAL OR AN ENTRY POINT THAT PROVIDES SERVICE TO PEOPLE. 
          IT'S HOW DO YOU OPERATE IT? RIGHT. 
          AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE ARE WITH THE CONVERSATION. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER SMILE. 
          I THINK YOU GOT YOUR LOT ON, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? I THINK IT'S BEEN ON THIS WHOLE TIME AND I TURN IT OFF. 
          YES, I, UM, I APPRECIATE YOUR PRESENTATION. 
          AND I WONDER IF YOU COULD SEND THE COPY OF YOUR SLIDE DECK TO CHRISTINE SO SHE COULD DISPUTE. 
          I THINK THEY HAVE IT. 
          I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN SHARE IT. 
          YEAH. 
          HAPPY TO SHARE. 
          AND WE'LL POST IT ON OUR WEB SITES TOMORROW, AS WELL AS THE BACKUP FOR THE COMMISSION. 
          JEN. 
          YES. 
          I'M HAPPY TO SEND IT OUT. 
          LET ME JUST SAY LOVE. 
          LOVE TO SEND IT OUT BY EMAIL MAYBE. 
          YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. 
          YEAH. 
          WE ALSO HAVE, I REFER TO IT AS OUR PROSPECTUS, THAT SORT OF SUMMARIZES EVERYTHING THAT WE TALKED ABOUT TODAY TOO. 
          SO IT'S AN, A FOUR COLOR PRESENTATION THAT, SO I ACTUALLY DO HAVE A QUESTION. 
          OKAY. 
          WHEN YOU SAY INVESTORS, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE ASSESSED PROPERTIES? YEAH. 
          YEAH. 
          WE CALL THEM YEAH. 
          INVESTORS, RIGHT. 
          CHAIR. 
          UH, YES. 
          COMMISSIONER  I HAVE A QUESTION. 
          AND IT'S PERTAINING TO PART OF YOUR PRESENTATION THAT I THINK IS, IS IT HAS TO BE ADDED BECAUSE I DIDN'T HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT IT. 
          UH, A LOT OF PUBLIC AMENITIES ALSO HAVE TO DO WITH PRESERVING OUR HERITAGE AND, UH, YOU ALL HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING WHAT WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH OVER IN THE LANDMARKS COMMISSION WITH THE, UH, PROPERTIES IN THE WAREHOUSE DISTRICT, OR WITH SOON TO BE THE FORMER WAREHOUSE DISTRICT. 
          AND I DO THINK THE DA IS THE CORRECT AGENCY WITH ALL YOUR PLANNING AND ALL YOUR RESOURCES TO ADDRESS IN A NEW, NEW, AND MAYBE, UH, EQUALLY CREATIVE WAY, UH, GIVING LIFE AND, AND, AND, UH, SOME SORT OF, UH, SUSTENANCE POSSIBILITY FOR ALL THESE PROPERTIES THAT, UH, ARE GOING TO INCREASINGLY BE UNDER PRESSURE. 
          AND WE'RE GOING TO START, UH, UM, UH, AGAIN, THIS DOMINO EFFECT IS SOMETHING I'VE BEEN VERY CONCERNED ABOUT AND BEEN RAISING THE ALARM, BUT WE REALLY DON'T SEEM TO HAVE ANY OVERALL OR, OR COMPREHENSIVE WAY OF THAT. 
          AND I WOULD, WOULD HOPE THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IF YOU ARE ALREADY INVOLVED IN THAT YOU WOULD BECOME, UH, UH, AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT IN TRYING TO FIND A BETTER SOLUTION. 
          YES. 
          AND JUST GOING BACK TO THE MISSION OF THE ORGANIZATION, YOU KNOW, IT IS TO CREATE, PRESERVE AND ENHANCE THE VALUE AND VITALITY OF DOWNTOWN. 
          SO IT IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, WE DO DISCUSS, I'LL GET, I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF THE TYPE OF PLANNING, UH, THAT WE'VE UNDERTAKEN. 
          SO WITH PROJECT CONNECT, THE FOURTH STREET, UM, CONVERSION, RIGHT? SO WE PULLED THE PROPERTY OWNERS TOGETHER TO LOOK AT, UM, WHEN THE, UM, SUBWAY COMES THROUGH FOURTH STREET, WHAT DOES THE REDESIGN OF THE STREET LOOK LIKE? AND WHAT YOU'RE DESCRIBING IS, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE, UM, WORK THAT WE'VE PUT INTO, UM, PRESERVING THAT STREET AND MAKING IT, UH, PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY, BUT ALSO, UM, CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT FOR BOTH THE BUILDINGS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC WHO WOULD WANT TO BE THERE. 
          BUT I I'D LIKE TO SEE MORE SPECIFIC DISCUSSION ABOUT PROPERTIES THAT ARE, UM, AT RISK AND, UM, JUST OTHER MECHANISMS THAT WE COULD BE WORKING WITH TO TRY TO OFFSET SOME OF THE FINANCIAL PRESSURES THAT THESE OWNERS ARE UNDER, UM, OR SET SOME STANDARDS WHERE CERTAIN TYPES OF WRITTEN REDEVELOPMENT WOULD BE ENCOURAGED AND OTHERS WOULD BE DISCOURAGED WITHIN YOUR PROGRAM. 
          OKAY. 
          SO IF THAT'S SOMETHING YOU HAVEN'T STARTED ALREADY, LET ME, UH, OFFER AT LEAST MY, UH, I'VE BEEN PUTTING A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT INTO THIS AND OTHER AREAS. 
          I'D BE HAPPY TO, UH, REACH OUT TO THE DA AS WELL. 
          I WOULD WELCOME HAVING THAT CONVERSATION. 
          THANK YOU. 
          IT'S A SHAME THAT WE NEVER DROPPED, ADOPTED THE TRANSFER OF DENSITY, UH, THAT COULD HAVE BEEN A WAY TO PROTECT SOME OF OUR HISTORIC RESOURCES AND GIVEN INCENTIVE TO OTHER, UH, OTHER DEVELOPERS AND, AND, UH, YEAH, I THINK PRESERVED THE VALUE FOR THOSE OWNERS THAT WERE GIVING UP THEIR DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION THAT SAID, UM, WITHOUT THE DAA, I DON'T KNOW WHERE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN WOULD BE. 
          AS YOU MENTIONED, YOU GET BEYOND THE BOUNDS OF THE DISTRICT AND THINGS FALL OFF MARKEDLY BECAUSE 
          [02:10:01]
IT IS LARGELY LEFT TO THE CITY TO TAKE CARE OF, THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE WORK THAT YOU DO DOWNTOWN TO MAKE IT A CLEAN, SAFE, WONDERFUL PLACE TO LIVE, WORK, AND VISIT. 
          UM, SO FROM US, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE THIS EVENING? WOULD YOU LIKE AN ACTION ITEM? UM, I, I WOULD SAY I'M LOOKING TO CHRISTINE. 
          IF WE HAVE, UH, A LETTER OF SUPPORT FROM THE COMMISSION. 
          UM, I THINK THAT WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED FOR THE AMENDMENT OF THE BOUNDARY LINES AND THE ADDITION, OR I, I THINK HE COULD BE AS SIMPLE AS, UM, AUTHORIZING THE PID RENEWAL. 
          RIGHT. 
          JUST, UM, AND OFFERING THAT TO COUNCIL IS THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE COMMISSION. 
          OKAY. 
          YEP. 
          YOU DON'T HAVE TO GET, I DON'T THINK YOU NEED TO GET INTO A LOT OF, I GOT VERY WORDY ON MY RESOLUTION. 
          YEAH. 
          HAPPY TO CUT IT SHORT FOR Y'ALL OKAY. 
          YEP. 
          UH, UH, IS THERE SOMEBODY THAT WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION? I WILL MAKE THAT MOTION. 
          OKAY. 
          OKAY. 
          WE HAVE A MOTION. 
          DO I HAVE A SECOND? I'M SORRY. 
          I JUST, AND THE MOTION, THE MOTION IS TO SUPPORT THE REAUTHORIZATION OF THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT OR THE DOWNTOWN PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT. 
          YEAH. 
          OKAY. 
          I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. 
          OPPOSED HEARING NONE. 
          THE MOTION CARRIES. 
          WE'LL GET SOMETHING TO COUNCIL. 
          APPRECIATE IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL Y'ALL DO FOR DOWNTOWN. 
          THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY AND FOR YOUR SUPPORT. 
          OKAY. 
          WELL, I HOPE HOLD ON. 
          UM, WE DID NOT DO ROLL CALL AND I THINK IS COMMISSIONER LEVINE STILL ON? HE I'M THINKING HE IS NOT OKAY. 
          WE NEED TO CALL RO YOU CAN'T LEAVE BECAUSE IF YOU DO, WE WILL NO LONGER HAVE A QUORUM. 
          OKAY. 
          SO, UH, CHRISTINE, WOULD YOU CALL ROLL, PLEASE BE HAPPY TO CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THIS IS GOING TO BE IN RANDOM ORDER JUST BECAUSE THIS WAY IS CHAIR HARRIS HERE. 
          COMMISSIONER CHER, PRESENT COMMISSIONER ROBINSON, COMMISSIONER RINEY COMMISSIONER ISHMAEL. 
          AND WELCOME TO THE COMMISSION HERE. 
          AND THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER LEMAN. 
          YEAH. 
          COMMISSIONER TEMPLETON HERE. 
          COMMISSIONER  COMMISSIONER ELECTED COMMISSIONER. 
          MEISENBACH HERE. 
          UH, COMMISSIONER HOME SETS. 
          I'M HERE VIRTUALLY COMMISSIONER MOCK COMMISSIONER WEAVER, PRESENT COMMISSIONER TAYLOR COMMISSIONER, WHETHER BE PRESENT AND COMMISSIONER RAMIREZ, I BELIEVE IS UNFORTUNATELY NOT ABLE TO WALK IN. 
          WE, THAT IS, UH, THAT IS THE ROLE AND THE ROLE HAS BEEN CALLED AND THE MEMBERS HAVE BEEN HERE THE ENTIRE TIME. 
          JUST TO SET THE RECORD FROM BEGINNING TO END. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, I THINK WE'RE ABOUT TO LOSE QUORUM. 
          UM, 
          [3b. Items from representatives of collaborating commissions including non-voting members]
I'VE GOT THREE, UH, REPRESENTATIVES FROM OTHER COMMISSIONS. 
          WOULD YOU LIKE TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE? I'LL START WITH HER REAL QUICK. 
          WELL, IT TENDS TO BE BRIEF. 
          UM, THE LAST DESIGN COMMISSION, I WAS ELECTED CHAIR. 
          UM, AND THEN WE ALSO APPROVED, UH, A FIREFIGHTER FIREFIGHTING STATION AT GOODNIGHT RANCH. 
          UM, WE SUGGESTED FURTHER WORK ON THE DOHERTY ARTS CENTER DUE TO LACK OF THOUGHT AROUND ACCESSIBILITY, UH, FOR PEDESTRIANS. 
          AND WE ALSO APPROVED THE CANYON CREEK APD SUBSTATION. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YES. 
          OH, AND CONGRATULATIONS ON BECOMING THE NEW CHAIR. 
          UM, UH, COMMISSIONER WEATHERBY REAL QUICKLY. 
          WE RECEIVED A PRESENTATION ON THE BRIDGE ALTERNATIVES OR PROJECT CONNECT OR THE BLUE LINE OVER LADY BIRD LAKE, AND THE COMMISSION PASSED A RESOLUTION GENERALLY SUPPORTING THE ALTERNATIVE 
          [02:15:01]
THAT INCLUDED RAIL BUS AND BIKE PAD SERVICES. 
          WE WERE SCHEDULED TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE ON THE METRO BIKE SYSTEM, BUT THAT, UH, ITEM DIDN'T OCCUR. 
          AND, UH, OTHER THAN THAT, WE HAD A FEW RIDEAWAY VACATIONS, ONE IN PARTICULAR, UH, AT KEMAL AND CONCHO IN EAST AUSTIN RELATED TO IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE MODERNIZATION OF THE PUBLIC HOUSING IN THAT AREA. 
          AND IT'S GOING TO BE PROVIDING SOME PUBLIC HOUSING WITH AFFORDABLE TO OWN HOMES INCLUDED IN THAT, WHICH WAS INVESTMENT. 
          AND THAT'S MY REPORT. 
          W WAS IT AN ALLEY THAT WAS VACATED? AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE LOTS OF LAND OWNED. 
          THAT'S BEEN DESIGNATED ALLIE'S SOMEONE ELSE ON THE COMMITTEE COMMISSION MAY KNOW MORE ABOUT THAT THAN I DO, BUT IT'S, UH, WASN'T REALLY IN USE AT ALL. 
          I DON'T BELIEVE IN THAT CASE. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          COMMISSIONER HEIM SOUTH. 
          WELL, I DID GET A CHANCE TO MAKE MENTION OF, UH, WHAT HAS ALSO BEEN IN THE NEWS, UH, ABOUT THE, UM, WAREHOUSE DISTRICT AND SOME OF THE ISSUES OF DOWNTOWN PRESERVATION, BUT, UH, WHILE ALL THIS WAS GOING ON, OUR WORKING GROUP, THAT'S BEEN HELPING US WITH THE DIVERSITY AND, AND, UH, EQUITY PRESERVATION PLAN, UPDATE PLAN UPDATE HAD BEEN MAKING SOME GREAT PROGRESS AND WE'RE STARTING TO SEE SOME EARLY DRAFTS OF THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS. 
          AND I BELIEVE WE'LL BE READY FOR SOME PRESENTATIONS TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS COMING UP IN THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS. 
          UM, OTHER THAN THAT, THE, UH, WORK CONTINUES WITH A LOT OF, UH, INCREASING NUMBER OF CASES FOR DEMOLITION AS, UH, WE'RE EXPANDING A LOT OF THE, UH, THE ENERGY FROM DOWNTOWN INTO SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOODS. 
          A LOT OF EAST AUSTIN, UH, DEMOLITION, UH, REQUESTS IN SOUTH BOSTON. 
          AND WE ARE CAREFUL, BUT, UH, YOU'LL PROBABLY BE HEARING MORE OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ZONING OVER OWNER'S OBJECTIONS. 
          UM, OUR CHARGE AGAIN, IS TO WORK ON PRESERVING OUR HERITAGE, AND WE REALLY ARE TRYING TO GET THE WORD OUT THAT, UM, IF YOU WERE AN OWNER OF A HISTORIC PROPERTY OR AN OLDER ONE THAT MIGHT BE HISTORIC, WE REALLY WANT YOU TO START THINKING OF YOURSELF AS THE STEWARD OF THAT PROPERTY AND NOT SOMEONE WHO JUST NEEDS TO BRING A BULLDOZER TO IT. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          UM, I SEE, UH, COMMISSIONER LEHMAN, YOU, WE'RE GOING TO ABBREVIATE THIS A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE I'M ABOUT TO LOSE QUORUM. 
          I THINK COMMISSIONER VICE-CHAIR LEHMAN WAS GOING TO MAKE A MOTION TO ADJOURN. 
          SO I SEE THE MOTION. 
          DO I HAVE A SECOND? UH, OKAY. 
          MEETING STANDS ADJOURNED. 
          IT IS 8:04 PM. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR JOINING US FOR THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION MEETING. 
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.